After a long hiatus that even had him borrowing cleats from the trophy case, 44-year-old Philip Rivers has made a surprising comeback, joining the practice squad, quickly moving to the active roster, and starting a game. However, to step back onto the gridiron, Rivers had to sacrifice his semi-finalist spot in his track to Hall of Fame induction. That’s a sacrifice retired Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is not willing to make.

“I have contemplated because I’ve got one more year before my health insurance runs out,” Fitzpatrick admitted on Pardon My Take. “So I’ve thought about that. That’s a big deal for Philip, as we’ve seen with ten kids. But for me, it just came down to ‘Do I want to reset the clock on my Hall of Fame eligibility, and I think the answer is NO.”

Rivers was the semifinalist for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame, but now he isn’t eligible until 2031. Given that he stepped away in the Summer of 2022, the 43-year-old would have a more realistic chance of making a comeback and even succeeding. But with two more years still to go before he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame, Fitzpatrick has no intention of pushing that timeline back.

That is the case if Fitzpatrick gets inducted on the first ballot. If not, perhaps unretiring wouldn’t be completely off the table. The energy among the retired players may have changed, all thanks to Rivers. From the looks of it, his comeback went pretty well. Those who questioned the veteran quarterback’s abilities and mobility issues were silenced when the shot-caller led the team to a 10-point lead before halftime.

Unlike Rivers, Ryan Fitzpatrick officially retired in 2022 after 17 NFL seasons. Since then, the 43-year-old has built a successful media career with Amazon Prime Video, DraftKings, and radio. Known for his legendary beard and “FitzMagic” persona, he’s thriving off the field. Meanwhile, Rivers reflected on his Week 15 performance.

“I’m grateful that I was out there, and it was a blast,” admitted the quarterback. “But, obviously, the emotions now are disappointment. This isn’t about me. We’ve got a team that was scrapping like crazy to try to stay alive and get in the postseason, so obviously, we’re all disappointed.” 

Even though the quarterback fell short of securing a victory in his debut game since unretiring, his performance indeed boosted confidence in Indianapolis. He completed the game by recording 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards, along with a touchdown. Colts head coach later addressed the performance and gave his assessment for what lies ahead for the QB’s future.

Shane Steichen backs Philip Rivers for Week 16

Initially, the Colts’ decision to move Rivers from the practice squad to the active roster after just three practice sessions ahead of Week 15 drew some skepticism. Sources from the team even pointed to concerns about mobility. Neither head coach Shane Steichen nor Rivers tried to oversell the move, stressing that he wasn’t coming in to save the team. But his performance told a different story. Safe to say that there’s little doubt he’ll start again against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. 

“We wanted to see how Philip did on Sunday, and I thought he did some really good things,” HC Steichen told the media. “To bring in a guy of his age and where he’s at in his career, we didn’t bring him in here to sit on the bench. I’ll say that. So, he’s excited for this challenge. We obviously got to take it one week at a time, and then we go from there.”

For a first game in about five years, the HC was surely impressed with what he saw. Throughout the game, the QB had one interception and was sacked once, but the positives certainly stood out.

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The game plan for Week 15 was simple: run the ball, control the clock, and take the easy completions. Part of the reason why it worked was the low expectation. Rivers was brought in after the Colts were left out of options from former starter Daniel Jones sustaining a season-ending Achilles injury. While Rivers isn’t a long-term solution, the Colts are taking things one step at a time. Right now, the goal is just to get through 2025. With playoff chances at stake, it will be interesting to see how the Colts host the 49ers next Sunday.