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Philip Rivers has come out of retirement to rejoin the Indianapolis Colts, five years after the 44-year-old grandfather last played in the NFL.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Colts faced a sudden need to fill their quarterback room after picking up two injuries during Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n
Daniel Jones was ruled out with a season-ending Achilles injury and his replacement, third-string rookie Riley Leonard, picked up a knee problem.<\/p>\n
Back-up quarterback Anthony Richardson was already out with a facial injury, so Rivers worked out for the Colts on Monday – his 44th birthday.<\/p>\n
The father of 10, who has been serving as the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, has now been added to the team’s practice squad.<\/p>\n
That makes Rivers the oldest current player in the NFL, surpassing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who turned 42 last week.<\/p>\n
After spending the first 16 years of his NFL career with the Chargers franchise, Rivers joined the Colts in 2020 and led them to an 11-5 record, falling at the first hurdle in the play-offs.<\/p>\n
The Colts, who were this season’s pacesetters before losing their past three games to slip to 8-5, have promoted Brett Rypien from their practice squad to their active roster, making the 29-year-old eligible for Sunday’s game at the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n
Rivers is seventh on the NFL’s all-time list for passing yards (63,440) and sixth for touchdown passes (421).<\/p>\n
Colts head coach Shane Steichen served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while Rivers was with the Chargers.<\/p>\n
Rivers’ eldest child is the same age as Colts rookie Leonard, 23, and leading up to this year’s draft – when he was a sixth-round pick by Indianapolis – Leonard worked with Rivers as the veteran lives in his hometown of Fairhope, Alabama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n