The standings are incredibly tight in the AFC South. The Jacksonville Jaguars lead the division at 9-4. The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are 8-5 apiece. Unfortunately the 2-11 Tennessee Titans
are the AFC South’s only non-competitive team.
The Colts are on a downslide. Things have gone disastrously since they traded two first-round selections to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner. Gardner suffered a multi-week injury, and things got worse on Sunday.
Starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. It’s a brutal blow for a potential Comeback Player of the Year candidate on an expiring contract. There’s a discussion to be had over culpability, considering the Colts were letting Jones play through a broken fibula injury.
Anthony Richardson is on IR with a self-inflicted eye injury suffered during a workout. It’s been approximately two months since Richardson went on IR. It feels like the Colts are done with him. Rookie sixth-round quarterback Riley Leonard replaced Jones in Week 14, but suffered a knee injury that makes him week-to-week.
Left with literally no healthy quarterbacks on their roster in the midst of a tight-knit postseason race, the Colts have done the unthinkable. On Monday evening, they worked out 44-year-old retired quarterback Phillip Rivers. Following that successful workout, the Colts agreed to terms with Rivers, signing him to the practice squad.
Rivers hasn’t played in the NFL since 2020, when he completed a lone campaign with the Colts. They went 11-5 and qualified for the playoffs. Colts head coach Shane Steichen spent nine seasons on the Los Angeles Chargers coaching staff (2011-12, 2014-2020) alongside Rivers, including a stint (2019-20) as his offensive coordinator.
You sort of have to applaud the Colts’ creativity. There isn’t a practice squad QB available to come in and save the Colts’ season. Mike White, Bailey Zappe, and Trevor Siemian were probably the best options. Rivers probably has more upside. Alternatively, could they have considered former Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, who hasn’t played since 2023?
Rivers also has more upside than Leonard, an inexperienced sixth-round rookie. We’ll be watching the Colts-Rivers reunion with fascination.
