The Indianapolis Colts offense will look much different than it did in 2019 as veteran quarterback Philip Rivers takes over the reins under center after a disappointing season from Jacoby Brissett.
Rivers is coming off of a down year with the Chargers that led to the two sides mutually parting ways after 16 seasons. But the Colts are hoping the reuniting of Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni will help rejuvenate the 38-year-old.
Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Rivers came in at No. 21 in the third tier.
Here’s what I said about Philip Rivers after the 2019 season:
After back-to-back seasons with a top-10 PFF grade, Rivers settled back in with the middle tier of quarterbacks in 2019. As with any older quarterback, questions have been raised about whether Rivers still has it, but he’s been working with diminished tools for a few years now while still finding a way to succeed. The concern is Rivers once again ranking among the league leaders in turnover-worthy plays while experiencing the fifth-highest increase in total negatively graded throws this season. That volatile style is not new for Rivers, as he still ranked among the best in big-time throws while showing his usual anticipation when throwing to all levels of the field. Rivers has been playing behind terrible pass blocking for a few years now, but he’s shown that he can still produce, especially if given a few more clean pockets to work from moving forward.
It will be a new world for Rivers in 2020 — he’s playing behind a good offensive line for the first time in years, and having a bigger pocket to maneuver around should work wonders. Rivers has been battling diminished arm strength, but playing indoors with the Colts should help, and it’s not like he wasn’t capable of getting the ball downfield to his playmakers with the Chargers.
That’s where things are different this season. Rivers leaves one of the better receiving units to throw to a corps that consists of T.Y. Hilton plus young question marks. If the youth develops, Rivers playing indoors behind a strong offensive line should put the Colts in position to win plenty of games, and it would not surprise to see another one-year rejuvenation to his career.
Rivers has a lot to prove not only to the league but also to himself. He’s coming off of one of his worst campaigns but is only two years removed from a borderline MVP season in 2018.
The Colts have confidence that Rivers can bounce back and make them a playoff-caliber team, much of which rests on the shoulders of the veteran quarterback.