The Indianapolis Colts are among the teams having to deal with players opting out of the 2020 season with concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, but quarterback Philip Rivers was never going to be one of those players.
Despite moving to a new city with a wife and nine children, Rivers said the thought of opting out never crossed his mind.
“No, there really wasn’t. No, that is the shortest answer I can give on the whole day. I don’t even know if I can ramble on that one. There wasn’t any consideration,” Rivers told reporters Wednesday.
The Colts have had three players opt out so far. That includes linebacker Skai Moore, cornerback Marvell Tell and safety Rolan Milligan. The deadline for that decision is Thursday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Rivers said he understands the risks and the protocols that need to be in place to ensure everyone’s safety. But at that same time, not playing in 2020 didn’t present itself as an option to him.
“So, I think as far as how we operate and making sure we’re doing the best we can, I think that is kind of where we are from our family standpoint. But in terms of deciding not to play, it never got there,” Rivers said.
Even though no starters for the Colts have opted out, the loss of Tell and Milligan will be big in the aspect that they both held depth roles and played significant parts on special teams.
Losing a starting quarterback to an opt-out would be an entirely different kind of troubling news.
While we will likely see more players opt out ahead of Thursday’s deadline, Rivers won’t be one of them.