Sports fans in Indianapolis were forced to watch another one of their athletes end a season prematurely with an Achilles injury.
After watching Tyrese Haliburton tear his Achilles tendon earlier this year during the NBA Playoffs, fans in Indianapolis were forced to watch Colts QB Daniel Jones suffer the same fate.
In a tough division loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Colts might have watched their playoff hopes go down the drain when Jones fell to the turf.
With Anthony Richardson sitting on Injured Reserve, rookie Riley Leonard was thrust into the jaguars’ den, but had little success.
Never fear, Colts fans, a rescuer is on his way.
In a report from NFL Insider Ian Rapaport, future Hall of Fame QB and former Colt, Philip Rivers will be flying into Indianapolis for a workout.
What’s Left in the Tank?
Should Philip Rivers have a successful tryout, he would be 44 years old before taking the field in a game.
However, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
According to Rapaport, the plan is to bring Rivers in for a tryout, with the first step being added to the practice squad.
At the very least, Rivers could provide veteran leadership for the rookie Leonard, who looked completely unprepared in his first NFL action.
The ceiling for Rivers to come back would be to lead the team to the playoffs, and have a competitive run in the postseason tournament.
Indianapolis has a strong supporting cast around whomever starts at quarterback behind a bullying running game and a usually stingy defense.
Even at 44, Rivers is likely still a good “thrower of the football”, and with weapons around him like RB Jonathan Taylor and wide receivers Michael Pittman and Josh Downs, the Colts could still make some noise.
Countless playoff teams over the years have proven to us that as long as there is a borderline elite defense coupled with an elite rushing attack, a competent quarterback can come in and be successful.
Hall of Fame Can Wait
Philip Rivers is in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, and many online were questioning how coming back out of retirement would affect his status.
As it turns out, he is allowed to be signed to a practice squad and still stay on his current five-year timeline for eligibility.
However, as soon as he is signed to an active roster, his five-year post-career status resets.
Should he only play the 2025 season, he will once again be eligible for Hall of Fame selection in 2030, at which point he will be 49 years old.
It’s not likely a 44-year-old quarterback, no matter how good he was in his prime, can come in and take a team to the playoffs.
The odds aren’t great, but it has been done before, and recently by Tom Brady, arguably the best quarterback of all time.
Brady was the exception, not the rule. The Colts hope they have another exception.
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