Quarterback Philip Rivers leaves league after 17 seasons, spent mostly with the Chargers.
Former No. 4 pick in the 2004 draft wraps up career after playoff loss with Colts
When Philip Rivers first started tossing footballs as a high school ball boy, he heaved them any way he could. The throwing motion stuck — and success soon followed.
Rivers used that strange, shot putlike style to land a college scholarship, become a first-round draft pick and eventually string together one of the greatest 17-year careers in NFL history. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old Indianapolis Colts quarterback announced his retirement.
“Every year, Jan. 20 is a special and emotional day,” Rivers said in a statement posted on the team’s website. “It is St. Sebastian’s Feast day, the day I played in the AFC Championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I’m announcing my retirement from the National Football League. Thank you God for allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL. I am grateful to the Chargers for 16 seasons, and the Colts for the 17th season.” Rivers was one of a kind. Between his trademark throwing style and his penchant for trash-talking without cussing, he carved out his own niche in the NFL.
There’s no doubt Rivers could sling it.
When he threw for 401 yards and five touchdowns in his second college game, then-indiana Hoosiers coach and future NFL head coach Cam Cameron proclaimed that the North Carolina State freshman had a future in the NFL.
Rivers didn’t just play in the league — he created a legacy few achieve.
After being selected fourth overall in the 2004 draft, he was immediately
traded from the New York Giants to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning. Rivers spent the next two seasons backing up Drew Brees in San Diego before taking over as the starter when Brees left in free agency.
In the 2006 season opener, Rivers made his starting debut — and then the next 251 in a row including the playoffs. Nothing kept him out — not the awkward mechanics, not the critics who thought he should retire after his final season with the Chargers, not even the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered against the Colts following the 2007 playoffs.
His 240 consecutive regular-season starts was the second-longest streak since 1970, trailing only Brett Favre (297), and it was one of the few stats Rivers cherished.
He was more than just dependable, too.
Rivers won 134 career games — No. 2 among quarterbacks without a Super Bowl ring — and was eighth all-time. Only Tom Brady (230), two-time Super Bowl champs Peyton Manning (186) and Ben Roethlisberger (156), Brees (172) and Hall of Famers Favre (186), John Elway (148) and Dan Marino (147) won more regular-season games than Rivers.
He also finished his career ranked fifth in career completions (5,277), yards passing (63,440) and touchdown passes (421), and as the Chargers’ franchise record-holder in every major passing category.
Chiefs: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes remained in the NFL’S concussion protocol Wednesday, but practiced in a limited capacity, raising hopes that the reigning Super Bowl MVP can play in Sunday’s AFC title game against Buffalo. The Chiefs typically breeze through their midweek practice with little contact before ramping things up with their longest workout Thursday, and coach Andy Reid said afterward that fit perfectly with what Mahomes was able to do. “He looked good,” Reid said. “He’s in the protocol so there’s only certain things he can do, but he took all the snaps and he feels good. So, I mean, we’re just going to follow this protocol as close as we possibly can.”
Browns: Baker Mayfield checked every box for the Browns this season: he matured as a player, took them back to the playoffs, solidified himself as a leader. Cleveland’s long search for a franchise quarterback appears to be over. “We’re very, very pleased with him,” general manager Andrew Berry said Wednesday. However, while praising Mayfield’s improvement and growth in his third season, Berry wouldn’t publicly comment on the team’s future plans with the 25year-old. The Browns can pick up Mayfield’s fifth-year option this offseason and possibly sign him to a long-term extension. “I don’t think that this is really the appropriate forum to really talk about those decisions,” Berry said during a Zoom call wrapping up the Browns’ season, which ended Sunday with a 22-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. ”That’s something that’s a little more personal to me, the player and the agent.”
Lions: Detroit landed the coach they coveted from the start of their search by hiring Dan Campbell. The Lions tweeted a photo of the former New Orleans Saints tight ends coach signing his deal Wednesday, one day after the team formally introducing Brad Holmes as their general manager. Campbell signed a six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not released.