The Indianapolis Colts are apparently considering drastic measures to salvage their suddenly spiraling 2025 season.
After losing starting quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury during Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indy brought Philip Rivers in for a workout on Monday night and ‘threw the ball well,’ according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The parties are now evaluating subsequent steps, the Colts’ battered quarterback room − beyond Jones even − serving as a backdrop of the club’s current state of desperation.
Rivers, who turned 44 on Monday, hasn’t played since 2020 − which seemed like the last of his 17 seasons in the league and the only one he spent in Indianapolis after 16 years with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers. That 2020 campaign, widely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, also marks the last time the Colts reached the postseason.
Rivers, who became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year and is currently a semifinalist, was voted to eight Pro Bowls. His 63,440 career passing yards rank seventh in league history, and his 421 touchdown passes are sixth all-time. He led the Chargers to four AFC West titles and two other playoff appearances, guiding them as far as the AFC title game in 2007, but never to a Super Bowl. Including the postseason, Rivers won 139 of his 252 professional starts, including an 11-6 mark in Indianapolis.
Originally selected fourth overall out of North Carolina State 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, whom the Bolts chose No. 1 overall. Manning had no intention of going to San Diego, but the Chargers got Rivers and a package of picks, including a 2005 first-rounder − which would be used on Pro Bowl pass rusher Shawne Merriman − for their trouble. Rivers owns most of the franchise’s significant passing records.
Colts coach Shane Steichen spent nine years as an assistant with the Bolts, including seven on the offensive side of the ball, where he served as Rivers’ interim offensive coordinator in 2019.
Rookie Riley Leonard finished the loss at Jacksonville but is now nursing a knee injury. The team is hoping he’ll be able to go for Week 15’s game at Seattle against the Seahawks, whose 10-3 record is tied for the best in the NFC. Former Colts QB1 Anthony Richardson is on injured reserve with an orbital bone fracture. After a surprising 7-1 start to its season, thanks in large part to revitalized Jones, Indianapolis has lost four of five and fell out of the AFC’s projected playoff field Sunday.
Since retiring after the 2020 season, Rivers has coached football at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama. He is the father of 10 children and has a grandchild as well.
Colts depth quarterback chart
Daniel Jones (injured)
Anthony Richardson (injured)
Riley Leonard
Brett Rypien (practice squad)