Philip Rivers Says Senior Bowl Convinced Chargers to Make Manning Trade

The former NFL quarterback said playing in the All-Star game was the reason he ended up playing for the Chargers.

Philip Rivers is never far away from football.

While his playing days in the NFL came to an end after the 2020 season, the eight-time Pro Bowler can be found on the sidelines on Friday nights with a headset coaching at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama.

Before he landed his first coaching job and a 17-year NFL career, he was a star quarterback at North Carolina State, an MVP of the 2004 Senior Bowl and a highly touted Alabama prep star at Athens High School under his dad, Steve.

Earlier this week, Rivers reunited with his roots when he was inducted to the Senior Bowl’s Class of 2022 Hall of Fame in Point Clear, Ala. 

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Rivers played on the South team in the all-star game, a team that was coached by the Chargers coaching staff and used a similar playbook to the one he would use during his days in the NFL with San Diego.

However, it almost did not work out that way. Rivers was drafted by the Giants but was then traded to the Chargers while New York secured Eli Manning, after the Manning family refused to have Eli play in San Diego. At the induction this week, Rivers said if he had not playing in the Senior Bowl, he would not have been a member of the Chargers.

“…I wouldn’t have been with the Chargers,” Rivers said, per AL.com. “I think if I had not played in that game [Senior Bowl] and had that week of experience with that coaching staff—of course, that won’t always be the case. But for me it was the case—to have the coaching staff actually coach the game and be coaching the team that I was on.”

In 16 seasons with the Chargers and one with the Colts, Rivers threw for 63,440 yards and 421 passing touchdowns in 240 starts. 

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