This week, it was reported that former star quarterback Philip Rivers had been considering a return to the NFL after last playing in 2020. It was also reported that Rivers contacted the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers — who were both dealing with their own quarterback depth issues — prior to the playoffs last season.
Rumors: Retired QB Philip Rivers contacted the #Dolphins & #49ers about coming out of retirement late in the 2022 season, via the @RichEisenShow
Both teams were thin at QB and Rivers offered up his services. 49ers would end up obviously sticking with Brock Purdy, who led them… pic.twitter.com/oy6bqLLUwK
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) March 6, 2023
Now, Rivers himself has come forward to deny those claims. He said that he was contacted by some teams, but the Dolphins were not amongst that group.
“I heard from a couple of teams just kind of checking in,” he told AL.com. “I didn’t contact anyone, and I’m not going anywhere. I think maybe some teams, with some guys going down, may have been just looking for a contingency plan, but nothing came of it.”
Rivers added that he thinks his career is “done,” but he thinks he could have given a team in need a small number of games.
“I think in my mind in the last couple of years if a team had needed me, I might have had six or eight games left in me, but I’m not going into this fall thinking the same,” he said. “I think it’s done.”
The eight-time Pro Bowler had an incredible career in the NFL, playing most of it with the San Diego Chargers, who later became the Los Angeles Chargers. Rivers spent his last season in the league with the Indianapolis Colts.
Throughout his entire career, he was known as a classic gunslinger who could make practically any throw on the field. However, his penchant for being aggressive often did lead to costly mistakes. He threw a total of 209 interceptions during his time in the NFL.
The 41-year-old completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 63,440 yards and 421 touchdowns across 244 career games. He was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the New York Giants before being traded to the Chargers for Eli Manning.
Though Rivers never won a Super Bowl, he did lead his team to the playoffs in seven seasons.
While he has now claimed that he never spoke with the Dolphins, it’s possible that they could have used him. The Dolphins nearly won their wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills last season while having to rely on third-stringer Skylar Thompson.
