Before going against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 with the Indianapolis Colts, the 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers reiterated that he wasn’t chasing glory. His one goal? Get the Colts into the playoffs. Fast forward to Week 18 and his team out for good, he has an opportunity to boost his chances for a trip to Canton. However, he would rather support the team’s vision.

“Not to try to push to play just because it’s like ‘You had to come back after five years at 44 and then play in the last game of the year after they’ve been eliminated to get to Roethlisberger,’” Philip Rivers said recently on Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams. “It would’ve almost needed an asterisk beside it. That wasn’t the reason why I’m not doing it. 

“It was always with the team in mind, feeling like, ‘Man, maybe I can help give them a chance’. And then I feel like you flip it in the last week, and it wasn’t about the team, it was about you all this time.”

Re-entering the NFL, the sixth all-time with 425 TDs, Rivers was already ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger in career touchdown passes. But now, he is chasing another record to surpass the Steelers legend: Rivers sits just 105 passing yards away from eclipsing Roethlisberger on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list. After averaging over 181 yards per game, the possibility seems very real. However, there’s a bump.

After a bye week at 8-2, Indianapolis collapsed, losing six straight games. Injuries to QB Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson, and Riley Leonard forced head coach Shane Steichen to reach out to Rivers and convince him to return. The veteran QB then brought leadership and energy to the Colts’ locker room and helped keep the team competitive during a difficult stretch. 

However, the results didn’t follow Rivers’ surprising return.

He lost all three of his starts with the Colts, throwing for 544 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. With the Colts eliminated from playoff contention, Steichen decided to bench Rivers and start Riley Leonard in the season finale. The move effectively ends Rivers’ pursuit of at least the seventh spot on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list.

Playing one more game and possibly grabbing those final hundred yards would’ve added weight to his Hall of Fame résumé, where he ended as a semi-finalist last season alongside the names like Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, and Bill Belichick. However, he has a simple stance for building his case:

“It won’t come down to that 100 yards. I can assure you.” 

The former Los Angeles Chargers QB ranks eighth all-time in passing yards with 63,984, just behind Roethlisberger (64,088) and Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford (64,257). 

Still, Rivers’ return was never about unfinished business or personal milestones. It was about helping his former coach and friend, Steichen. While Philip Rivers never won a Super Bowl during his 17-year career, he reached the playoffs seven times and consistently played at a high level. His brief unretirement also mirrored the paths of legends like Tom Brady and Brett Favre.

Brady retired and unretired before winning another Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023. He finished his career with 89,214 yards for 212 TDs on his career résumé to become a lock for the Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2028. Favre also retired and unretired multiple times in the 2000s. He ultimately announced official retirement in 2011 with career records of 71,838 yards and 508 TDs, and earned his first-ballot Hall of Fame honors in 2016. 

Philip Rivers has already built a legacy as one of the league’s legendary QBs, and his willingness to step aside now only adds to that image. He’s allowing Riley Leonard, who has recorded 145 yards with two interceptions and no TDs this season, to get a valuable opportunity.

On the other hand, Rivers has something else to attend to, as he has already hung up his cleats from the league.

What’s next for Philip Rivers?

In his short return stint, Rivers’ best game thus far came against the San Francisco 49ers on December 22. He finished 23-of-35 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Against the Seahawks, his first game in 1800 days, Rivers became the oldest quarterback to appear in a game for the Colts in franchise history, almost pulling an upset win on the road. But after a surprising return, life after football looks familiar for Philip Rivers.

Since retiring from the NFL in 2020, he had already embraced his role as a family man with his sons and grandkids, and as a high school coach. So, after this short comeback in the NFL, he will return to coaching at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, where his son Gunner will be the senior QB this fall, along with his second son, who will be a ninth grader on the same team.

“I’m back to the sideline,” Rivers said. “This was a fun three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself, and that’ll be it.”

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Philip Rivers was a 2026 Hall of Fame semifinalist before this return. Due to the required five-year waiting period, his eligibility clock will reset to 2031. Although he had a short return, Rivers impressed many. However, when it comes to his final verdict on another return to the NFL QB life, Rivers just dropped a message for his fans:

“Hell no, I am (done).”