The Indianapolis Colts pulled off a shocker this week when they decided to bring Philip Rivers out of retirement. The veteran quarterback had been out of the NFL since 2020 before being signed to Indy’s practice squad on Wednesday.Â
Rivers hasn’t played a single snap in nearly five years, but there’s a good chance that drought will end on Sunday when the Colts face the Seahawks. The 44-year-old Rivers, who is now the oldest active player in the NFL, could get the start in Seattle because the Riley Leonard is dealing with a knee injury.Â
It’s not often that you see a 44-year-old take the field in an NFL game, but we did just see it happen back 2022 with Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl winner was actually 45 years old during his final season with the Buccaneers. Brady did an interview with Colin Cowherd this week and during their talk, the NFL legend was asked if he thought he could “generate drives” and help a team if he was asked to play on Sunday, and Brady didn’t hesitate with his response.Â
“Yes, I certainly could,” Brady said. “I think the answer for me would be yes.”
Although Brady is confident that he could still help someone, he’s actually prohibited from playing in the NFL right now due to league rule that was implemented in 2023.Â
“I’m not allowed to anymore because I’m a minority owner of the Raiders, so I can’t unretire,” Brady explained.Â
When Brady first retired, it was possible for someone to own a team and still play, but for that to happen, 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners would have had to approve it. However, as CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported last year, that loophole was closed in 2023. Under the new policy, employees are not allowed to have an ownership stake in a team and a player counts as an employee. Brady was approved as a Raiders minority owner in October 2024 and as soon as that happened, he became ineligible to play in the NFL.Â
Brady could still sell his stake in the Raiders and look to make a return after that, but that isn’t going to happen. As for Rivers, the 48-year-old Brady sounds pumped to see if the new Colts quarterback has anything left in the tank.Â
“I’m very excited to watch Philip play,” Brady said. “It speaks to how much he loves the game and really what he’s able to do still.”
As long as Rivers can throw the ball and process what opposing defenses are doing, Brady thinks he’ll have a fighting chance to succeed during his comeback.Â
“This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up,” Brady said. “That doesn’t really go away. That’s still up there. Do you still have the physical ability to still do it, take the hits, make the throws. If Philip has been practicing those things, then we’re all going to see it on full display in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.”
Rivers is the first player to come out of retirement at age 44 since Brady did it in 2022. The former Patriots and Buccaneers QB famously retired in February 2022 before returning after just 40 days.Â
“Who retires and then unretires and then is ultimately going to retire again? Who does that? That’s ridiculous for Philip to do that,” Brady joked to Cowherd.Â
Rivers spent the past five seasons coaching high school football at St. Michael Catholic in Alabama, where his son, Gunner Rivers, has turned into a top QB prospect. With the high school season over for 2025, the elder Rivers thought it would be the perfect time to return to the field.Â
Rivers was drafted all the way back in 2004 and he’ll be the third QB over the age 40 to start a game this year, joining Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco. In Indy, he’ll be reuniting with Shane Steichen.Â
Steichen started his NFL coaching career with the Chargers, where he spent eight seasons with Rivers, and that familiarity will likely serve Rivers well if he’s forced to play on Sunday.Â
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