Philip Rivers might suit up for the final time this weekend against Jacksonville.
Even as what little athletic ability he had ebbed away with age, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers has remained one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the game, completing 68 percent of his passes, topping 4,000 yards for the 12th time in 13 years and leading Frank Reich and the Colts a 10-5 record. However, the Colts face the prospect of missing out on the postseason, as they will need to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, who took them down earlier in the season, and have a few other lucky breaks go their way to make the cut.
The 39-year-old Rivers knows that time is not on his side, even acknowledging that he could retire if the Colts don’t make it to the postseason.
Philip Rivers will likely end up in the Hall of Fame after an amazing career
Rivers, who left the Chargers after 16 years in San Diego and Los Angeles due to his familiarity with Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni, might not have the Super Bowl rings fellow 2004 draftees Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger have, but he dwarfs them in almost every statistical category. Rivers is fifth in NFL history in passing yards with 63,726 to his name, and one more touchdown pass would break a tie with Dan Marino that would give him sole possession of fifth place on that list with 421.
He did all of this with subpar head coaches in Norv Turner, Mike McCoy and Anthony Lynn for the bulk of his career.
The Colts, who have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for a host of veteran quarterbacks in 2021, have an A+ backup quarterback in Jacoby Brissett and one of the strongest arms in the league in rookie Jacob Eason on the depth chart behind Rivers.
Even if he retires without a championship or Super Bowl appearance, Rivers will remain one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play this game. An extremely productive starter for 15 seasons in the NFL despite a lack of athletic ability, Rivers will likely get a bust of his likeness in Canton in a few years, as his arm was one of the most accurate the game has ever seen.