Colts Share Philip Rivers’ Vision for Playing Beyond 2020

When quarterback Philip Rivers agreed to join the Indianapolis Colts with a one-year, $25-million contract, the 38-year-old passer expressed the desire to play for more than just one season. Presuming he plays well, the Colts also hope to have him for multiple seasons.

INDIANAPOLIS — When Philip Rivers agreed in March to become the Indianapolis Colts quarterback, he expressed the hope that his commitment would extend beyond one year and $25 million.

Third-year Colts coach Frank Reich on Monday expressed optimism about Rivers playing multiple seasons for the Colts.

“I think the spirit of it was, ‘Hey, we’re in this together,’ and as long as Philip wants to play, he wants to be here,” Reich said in a Zoom video conference call.

Rivers is 38 and entering his 17th season. The Colts will look to pay him again if he succeeds with a new offense. He will have a better offensive line and rushing game than with the L.A. Chargers. And he knows most of the playbook already because Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni have the experience as Chargers assistants form 2013-2015 of working with Rivers.

“It’s the NFL. We know he’s got to prove it,” Reich said. “We’ve got to prove it as a team to keep him wanting to play. I can just tell you from the previous relationship, I really believe it is Philip’s intent to play multiple years. I personally believe he is more than capable of multiple years. But as far as how the actual contract gets worked out, it’s the NFL. We keep things realistic there, but I am very optimistic it will be a multi-year thing.”

The Colts lost seven of nine games to finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five years in 2019. One of the most glaring issues was a passing game with quarterback Jacoby Brissett that didn’t throw the ball down the field enough. Rivers, a risk-taking gunslinger, has always been known for that. In 2019, he ranked third in 20-plus-yard pass attempts with 76. Just Jameis Winston (102) and Aaron Rodgers (88) had more.

As the virtual offseason continues, Rivers has already made his leadership presence known in Zoom calls.

“Yeah, he is very vocal,” Reich said. “When we are all on it as a team like this, no one person is dominating that conversation. When we get in as an offense, Nick (Sirianni) does a good job of inviting participation from everybody. Philip is certainly (doing) more than his share. Then when we get into the quarterback room, that is where Philip has already had an impact in that room – a few suggestions, a few lingo things there, a few terminology things.

“Every year we clean things up. Every year we come back and see what we want to emphasize, add a few more things. So, maybe we need to categorize things different, change up a couple code words. All the quarterbacks are in those discussions. He’s got some good insight. There have been several – I can’t think of one off the top of my head – times where we’ve just gone to him and said, ‘Hey, just tell us how you want this. How do you see this? Are you good with this or do you want to call it something different? Do you want to look at it a different way?’ So that interaction is normal and he is great at that stuff.”

From what Reich has seen in remote shots of Rivers throwing, the coach is encouraged by the veteran’s preparation.

“I saw one video that he had a net out in his backyard – actually he had a net out on a field that was down the street from his house,” Reich said. “He was out there with his son and he’s throwing balls into the net. His son plays quarterback, so they’re alternating. I got to see his son throw some. That was pretty fun because I knew his son – I obviously know his son from before when we coached together. So, it’s fun to see how he’s grown and developed.

“This particular drill was like a checkdown drill, where he was dropping back in the pocket simulating movement and that little net like it would be Nyheim Hines checking out of the backfield and then ‘Boom,’ deliver it that way. Then deliver it with this arm angle, working fast in the pocket, doing that. That’s one example of physical tape that I’ve seen of him out there doing that kind of thing. What’s going to happen if I had to guess – I mean I know this is generally speaking the plan, that at some point Philip will be moving here to Indy, sooner rather than later. Then more and more guys will get back to Indy and then as it’s allowed we can get out on fields. It won’t be our field, but he’ll get together with receivers. He’ll throw with them. Right now, that hasn’t happened a whole lot, but I would anticipate that ramping up in the coming weeks.”

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)