Sooner or later after 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers ended his retirement and joined the Indianapolis Colts’ observe squad, he addressed his teammates forward of a midweek observe.
Rivers’ feedback provided a lift to a membership that has endured a troublesome stretch since its Week 11 bye.
Philip Rivers not taking return to NFL without any consideration
“He stated, ‘You realize what? I feel for most individuals you at all times know what this sport involves, and sooner or later I believed it might be over,'” Colts heart Tanor Bortolini stated about Rivers’ remarks, per Stephen Holder of ESPN. “‘So, it is fairly cool to be again. And I do not take this without any consideration in any respect.’ You simply know that he’ll give every part he has.”
Rivers hasn’t taken an in-game snap since he final featured for the Colts in the course of the 2020 season, however he’s now on observe to begin when 8-5 Indianapolis performs on the 10-3 Seattle Seahawks this coming Sunday. Head coach Shane Steichen gave Rivers a name as a result of the Colts had no wholesome quarterbacks on their energetic roster. Daniel Jones (season-ending torn Achilles tendon) and Anthony Richardson Sr. (orbital fracture) are out indefinitely, whereas rookie Riley Leonard is making an attempt to get well from a strained knee ligament.
Journeyman Brett Rypien started the week on the Colts’ observe squad and might function Rivers’ backup in opposition to the Seahawks.
Rivers desires Colts to embrace “why not us” mentality
The Colts trail the 8-5 Houston Texans within the chase for the AFC’s closing wild-card playoff spot on account of Houston’s Week 13 win over Indianapolis. These two groups will face off once more in Week 18.
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Colts as 13.5-point underdogs in opposition to the Seahawks. At that very same time, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the Colts a 25.5% probability to make the playoffs.
“He stated, ‘We have got a reasonably good report now,'” guard Matt Goncalves stated about Rivers’ message to the group. “He stated, ‘Why not us?’ Principally, he stated to maintain our heads up as a result of something can occur.”
What was as soon as a 7-1 Indianapolis group has misplaced three straight video games and 4 of its final 5. Working again Jonathan Taylor indicated that Rivers’ presence might assist the Colts reclaim not less than a few of their prior kind.
“Having the ability to type of have a few of that vitality that we had beforehand, I feel that it was very nice, and I feel that we will proceed to make use of that,” Taylor defined. “Clearly, we have now to go and execute out at observe and ensure it interprets on Sunday. However simply from an vitality, a vibe, a juice standpoint, I feel it was actually good.”
