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There is a good chance Philippe Rivières sees action on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks in a must-win game for the AFC South team.
Rivers, 44, joined the Colts earlier this week as the team faces 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 does an NFL fan think Rivers will bring to the Colts at age 44? He has changed so much since the 2020 season, as have his opponents on the pitch. The Seahawks also have one of the best defenses in the league.
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Shawne Merriman #56 of the San Diego Chargers walks the sideline during the game against the Seattle Seahawks on August 15, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Shawne Merriman, Rivers’ former teammate, told PK Press Club Digital that he expected him to play well but was concerned about one thing.
“It’s a tough week for him to come back. But I’ll tell you this, Phil’s advantage has never been his athleticism. It’s always been his competitiveness,” he said. “He’s the most competitive player I’ve ever played with, that’s one. And two, it was his preparation, his mentality and his knowledge of the football. Those two things always made Philip this elite quarterback. That was it. So, it’s not going to be that different as far as his movement in the pocket.
“The thing that concerns me is you can’t replicate football without playing it. So you can have a coach there, I’m sure he was throwing the football with his high school kids. I’m sure he was practicing, but you can’t replicate football. So, I think he’s going to go out there and look great. I think he’s going to go out there and actually look like he did five years ago.”
When rumors started that Rivers was potentially coming to Indianapolis to train, 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)
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The former San Diego Chargers star said that while speaking to Rivers at Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he 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 said on Twitter that Phil was still ready to play and that was, I think, 2023,” he said. “And everyone’s like, ‘What? Well, yeah, it’s true.’ He was out of the game, I think, three years at that point, and then literally a week or two later it appears that the San Francisco 49erstheir quarterback situation with all their injuries, that they were considering 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 talked to him, you felt like he was ready. It seemed like he was talking about the game in the moment.”
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Merriman said he got together with Rivers and Drew Brees during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it didn’t seem like Rivers was truly done with football.
“So, I’m not surprised at all and it’s the right decision on the part of the Indianapolis Colts.”
