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There’s a good chance Philip Rivers There’s action on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks, a must-win game for the AFC South team.
Rivers, 44, joined the Colts earlier this week as the team struggles with a quarterback crisis. The potential Hall of Famer hasn’t played since the 2020 season, but when the Colts needed him most, he answered the call and dove into a playbook to prepare for the game.
But what can any NFL fan imagine Rivers offering the Colts at 44 years old? He has changed so much since the 2020 season, as have his opponents on the field. The Seahawks also have one of the best defenses in the league.
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Shawne Merriman #56 of the San Diego Chargers stands courtside during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Qualcomm Stadium on August 15, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Shawne Merriman, Rivers’ former teammate, told Fox News Digital that he expects him to play well but is worried about one thing.
“It’s a tough week for him coming back. But I’ll tell you this: Phil’s advantage was never his athleticism. It was always his competitiveness,” he said. “He’s the most competitive player I’ve ever played with, that’s one. And secondly, it was his preparation, his mental toughness and his knowledge of the game of football. Those two things have always made Philip this elite quarterback. That’s it. So it won’t be much different as far as his movement in the pocket.”
“My concern is that you can’t replicate football without playing it, so you can have a coach out there who certainly played football with his high school kids.
When rumors swirled that Rivers might come to Indianapolis for training, Merriman said he wasn’t surprised.
Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks for an open receiver during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The former San Diego Chargers star said when he spoke to Rivers during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it didn’t feel like the quarterback was completely done with the game.
“I wasn’t shocked. And that’s why – a few years ago I posted on Twitter that Phil was still ready to play and that was, I think, in 2023,” he said. “And everyone says, ‘What? Well, right.’ At that point he had been out of the game for, I think, three years, and then, literally a week or two later, it turns out that… San Francisco 49erstheir quarterback situation with all their injuries that they thought about bringing in Philip. And I said, I told you.
“I had a conversation with Philip and he didn’t say, ‘Oh, I’m coming back to play,’ but when you spoke to him he sounded like he was ready. He sounded like he was talking about the game in the present moment.”
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Merriman said he met with Rivers and Drew Brees During Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it wasn’t as if Rivers was completely done with football.
“So I’m not surprised at all and it’s the right decision by the Indianapolis Colts.”
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