Philip Rivers Details Colts Phone Call Pitching NFL Return After Daniel Jones Injury

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers went on the Rich Eisen Show Friday and was asked about the phone call the 44-year-old received leading to him briefly ending his five-year retirement to start three games this season. He also talked about his initial thoughts about returning to the field and first moments heading back into the pro mix.

Rivers got the call from the Colts on Sunday, Dec. 7, when starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. Indianapolis was already down quarterback Anthony Richardson, who suffered a fractured orbital bone in pregame warmups before a 31-27 win against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 11.

Indianapolis could have rolled with rookie quarterback Riley Leonard but opted for an old friend in Rivers, who played for the Colts in 2020 after 16 seasons with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers.

"I guess my first thought was, 'Dang, let's go,' you know, a little bit. And then you start going all over the place, right? Your mind kind of goes all over the place. And it was a wild 36 hours, I guess, just of going, back and forth, back and forth you know?"

Rivers then said he decided to go with it.

"And then it was like, what? Have I lost my mind? I could go on and on, but it was wild," Rivers continued.

"Then getting back here, getting here Monday afternoon, Monday evening, throwing in the indoor, right? Felt pretty good, and it was kind of like, man, I remember this place, you know, obviously it was the last place I was in 2020.

"Then it felt kind of good, and then obviously having familiar faces with Shane, but also, you know, there's 14 teammates that were here in 2020, and so that kind of added to the familiarity, and then the training room staff's the same, the equipment guys, the PR guys, there was a lot of familiarity, and then it felt pretty normal there once we got going in that game week."

In three games, Rivers completed 63.0 percent of his throws for four touchdowns (three interceptions) and 544 yards. All things considered, he impressed given his age and the fact that he wasn't in the league for five years.

The Colts did go 0-3 in his starts, but they faced a brutal schedule against the 13-3 Seattle Seahawks, 12-4 San Francisco 49ers and 12-4 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Rivers' stint as starter is over as the Colts, who were eliminated from playoff contention last week, will go with Leonard as QB1 on Sunday when Indianapolis faces the Houston Texans to end 2025. Rivers will still remain with the team through the weekend.