Philip Rivers Responds to 49ers, Dolphins Rumors; 'Ship Has Sailed' on NFL Comeback

Philip Rivers is refuting a report he contacted the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins last season about making a comeback for the postseason.

Speaking to Ben Thomas of AL.com about the rumors, Rivers said a couple of teams contacted him as a "kind of checking in," but he wasn't looking to play again because "the ship has sailed" on his NFL career.

Rivers also said the Dolphins weren't one of the teams that called him.

On Monday's episode of his radio show (starts at 1:30 mark), NFL Network's Rich Eisen said one of the rumors being talked about during the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week was Rivers "contacted both of them [the 49ers and Dolphins] to come back late last year."

---

The 49ers appeared to have a need at quarterback when Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken left foot in the first quarter of their Week 13 victory over the Dolphins.

Trey Lance, who entered 2022 as San Francisco's starter, suffered a fractured fibula and ligament damage in his ankle in Week 2 that ended his season.

San Francisco turned to Brock Purdy, the final pick in the 2022 draft, as its quarterback when Garoppolo went down. The 23-year-old exceeded all expectations with 1,308 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions and completed 68.3 percent of his attempts over the final six weeks of the regular season.

The 49ers went 5-0 in Purdy's starts in the regular season and advanced to the NFC Championship Game.

Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Miami's 26-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers—his second confirmed concussion of the season—that wound up keeping him out for the rest of the campaign.

Teddy Bridgewater replaced Tagovailoa as the Dolphins starter against the New England Patriots in Week 17, but he suffered a broken finger in his throwing hand in the third quarter that ended his season.

Skylar Thompson started the final two games for the Dolphins, including their AFC Wild Card Game against the Buffalo Bills. He finished 18-of-45 for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 34-31 loss to the Bills.

Rivers retired at the end of the 2020 season after playing 17 years in the NFL. He spent the first 16 years of his career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers before joining the Indianapolis Colts for one year.

Following his retirement as a player, Rivers was hired as a head football coach for St. Michael's High School in Alabama. The eight-time Pro Bowler has an 11-8 record in two seasons with the program.