NFL overreaction: Daniel Jones ruptures Achilles tendon, Texans beat Chiefs
USA TODAY Sports’ Prince Grimes is “overreacting” to some of the best games of Week 14 on Sunday.
- The move was made after starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.
- Rivers, 44, last played for the Colts in 2020 and is currently a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist.
- The Colts have lost four of their past five games, falling out of the AFC’s projected playoff spot.
The Indianapolis Colts appear to be considering drastic measures to salvage their suddenly deteriorating 2025 season.
Indy, which lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles tendon injury in Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, plans to bring Philip Rivers to practice on Tuesday, according to NFL media.
Rivers, who turned 44 on Monday, hasn’t played since 2020. It seemed like the last of his 17 seasons in the league, and his only one in Indianapolis after 16 years with San Diego and the Los Angeles Chargers. The 2020 season, which was widely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was also the last time the Colts reached the postseason.
Rivers, who earned eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year and is currently a semifinalist, has been voted to eight Pro Bowls. His 63,440 career passing yards rank seventh in league history, and his 421 touchdown passes rank sixth all-time. He led the Chargers to four AFC West titles, two playoff appearances, and the 2007 AFC title game, but they failed to reach the Super Bowl.
Originally selected fourth overall by the New York Giants in the 2004 draft, Rivers’ rights were traded almost immediately to the Chargers in a draft-day deal for Eli Manning, the Bolts’ first overall pick. Manning had no intention of going to San Diego, but the Chargers acquired Rivers and a pick package that included a 2005 first-round pick used for Pro Bowl pass rusher Shawne Merriman. Rivers owns most of the franchise’s significant passing records.
Colts coach Shane Steichen was an assistant with the Bolts for nine years, seven of them on offense, and served as Rivers’ interim offensive coordinator in 2019.
Rookie Riley Leonard is coming off Sunday’s loss, while former Colts QB1 Anthony Richardson is currently on injured reserve with a fractured orbit. After a surprising 7-1 start to the season, thanks in part to a reinvigorated Jones, Indianapolis lost four of five games and fell out of the AFC’s projected playoff spot on Sunday.
Since retiring after the 2020 season, Rivers has coached at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama.
Colts Depth Quarterback Chart
▶ Daniel Jones (injured)
▶ Anthony Richardson (injured)
▶ Riley Leonard
▶ Brett Rypien (practice squad)
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