Philip Rivers is back. Excellently, A bit Back away.
Earlier this week, Rivers officially ended his retirement and signed with the Colts’ practice squad after starter Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending injury and backup Riley Leonard suffered an undisclosed injury. But initially, Rivers appeared to be a contingency plan for the Colts, who were hoping Leonard would be healthy enough to start.
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Now, Leonard is apparently “feeling great,” having participated in three consecutive practices as of Friday. But Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who worked with Rivers for six seasons with the Chargers, hasn’t confirmed whether he plans to start Rivers this weekend, raising the possibility that we’ll see the 44-year-old veteran lace up his shoes for the first time in nearly five years after retiring after the 2020 season.
“He’s got great command in traffic. He throws the ball well. So we’re excited about that. He’s enthusiastic about the challenge, getting back into it, getting back in the fold, getting a feel for the pass rush. Did a great job with that,” Steichen said.
“I would say it’s pretty good. For a guy who hasn’t played in five years, to practice the way he did this week is pretty impressive.”
That sounds like the words of a coach who’s impressed with his quarterback, so maybe it’s not so crazy to think we’ll see Rivers this week. If we do that, that would be just enough to defend his spot on the NFL’s all-time passing yardage list. You see, Rivers currently ranks seventh in career passing yards with 63,440 yards. But behind him in eighth place on the list is another active quarterback, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, with 63,163 yards.
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For those of you not good at math, Stafford trailed Rivers by just 277 yards. Stafford has thrown for that number or more six times this season, including 281 yards in last week’s win over Arizona. So honestly, Stafford is one game away from breaking the record. But that could all change if Rivers gets playing time this weekend.
If Rivers gets back on the court, this will be a game. What if Rivers does play, perform well, and returns next year? You see, Stafford is getting older too, currently 37 and playing his 17th NFL season. Yes, he looks to be at the top of his game, but obviously, unless you’re Philip Rivers, his body isn’t going to hold up forever. So who’s to say Stafford won’t end up in eighth place?
Another fun fact is that Rivers only needs 649 yards to pass Ben Roethlisberger for sixth all-time. So if Rivers does return to form or comes back for another year, he might as well pull Big Ben off the ladder. Above Roethlisberger? Well, that’s current Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who passed the former Steelers signal-caller earlier this season.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Can Philip Rivers hold off Matt Stafford on NFL career passing roster?