INDIANAPOLIS — Colts coach Frank Reich doesn’t believe quarterback Philip Rivers’ stay in Indianapolis will be for just one year.
Reich sees a 38-year-old quarterback who still has the ability to play multiple years in the NFL.
“The spirit of [negotiations] was, we’re in this together and as long as Philip wants to play, wants to be here,” Reich said Monday. “It’s the NFL, we know he has to prove it. We have to prove it as a team to keep him wanting to play. I can just tell you from the previous relationship [with the Chargers], I really believe it’s Philip’s intent to play multiple years. I personally believe he’s more than capable of multiple years.”
Philip Rivers signs in Indianapolis
Rivers signed a one-year, $25-million deal with the Colts in March after spending the first 16 years of his career with the Chargers. Reich was a member of the Chargers’ coaching staff from 2013 to 2015.
Philip Rivers is coming off a 2019 season when he turned the ball over 23 times, including 20 interceptions, the third most in the NFL. Rivers, who has started 224 straight games, has thrown for 59,271 yards and 397 touchdowns to go with eight Pro Bowl invitations in his career.
Rivers said earlier this spring that he thought about retiring before talking to his family and deciding to keep playing.
“I take it one year at a time,” Rivers said March 21. “If I feel good, I’ll keep going. I don’t want to get carried away. You won’t see me in the Tom Brady [age] range. I still feel like I can help a football team go win a championship.”
Rivers already has a job waiting for him once his playing career is complete. It was announced on May 8 that he will become the head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama, once he retires.
“When the announcement was made, I knew this five years ago,” Reich said. “This literally has been in the works for a long time. It’s really exciting for me to see that in him. He’s football through and through. That’s one of the things you love about him. We’re certainly excited to have him for however long we get him before he takes that head job.”
This article was first published by ESPN.
