At the age of 44 and nearly five years removed from his last NFL snap, Philip Rivers is coming out of retirement in attempt to get the Indianapolis Colts into the playoffs.
It’s an absurd situation, created by the Colts’ loss of Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles tendon and additional injuries for back-ups Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson. It’s something nearly without precedent in the NFL. Even one good start would land Rivers, a grandfather, in NFL lore.
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So naturally, a 48-year-old Tom Brady thinks he could also do it. There’s just one thing holding him back.
The New England Patriots great addressed the return of his longtime quarterbacking peer on Fox Sports’ “The Herd” on Thursday. When asked if he could if he could get off the couch and, with a passing knowledge of the offense, generate drives in an NFL game this weekend, Brady answered in the affirmative, while mocking his own return from retirement:
“Yes, I certainly could. But first of all, who retires and then unretires and then is ultimately going to retire again? Who does that? That’s ridiculous for Philip to do that. But good for him, I’m happy he’s doing it.
“I think the answer for me would be yes. I’m not allowed to anymore because I’m a minority owner of the Raiders, so I can’t unretire, but I’m very excited to watch Philip play because I just think it’s very cool.”
Brady is correct in that the only way for him to pull a Rivers would be to sell his stake in the Raiders. The NFL explicitly forbids its players from owning shares in franchises, and some teams are antsy enough about him working as a broadcaster for Fox while holding shares in a team.
So it appears we’ll sadly never be able to see if Brady can prove himself right.
Of course Tom Brady thinks he could still play in the NFL. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
Brady, who played in the NFL until he was 45, was overall bullish on Rivers’ chances to succeed if he gets a start for the Colts:
“It speaks to how much he loves the game and really what he’s still able to do. This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up. We used to have a saying at Michigan, the mental is to the physical as four is to one at the quarterback position. That doesn’t really go away. That’s still up there.
“Do you still have the physical ability to do it, take the hits, make the throws, the drops, buy a little time in the pocket? If Philip has been practicing those things, then we’re all going to see it on full display in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.”
It’s still undecided if Rivers or a returning Leonard will get the start for the Colts against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Because Rivers is technically on the practice squad, Indianapolis will have to elevate him before the game.