The Indianapolis Colts and veteran quarterback Philip Rivers have been connected as potential suitors since the beginning of the offseason, and the noise isn’t quieting down.
Now, Rivers’ former running back in Melvin Gordon gave his prediction for the upcoming offseason. His thoughts are in line with the others who believe the 38-year-old quarterback will be wearing the horseshoe in 2020.
“I think he goes to the Colts,” Gordon told CBS Sports. “I don’t know, that’s just my thought.”
Of course, Gordon doesn’t have any inside information into the matter. But he did play with Rivers for four seasons. Gordon will be trying to get a contract of his own in free agency while Rivers is trying to extend his career as long as he can.
What Gordon bases his prediction on is the connections Rivers already has with the Colts coaching staff.
“Nick (Sirianni), he came from here, we had him, and he’s the offensive coordinator there. They run the same playbook, so it’d be easy, he could come right in and he could be telling guys what to do, he knows what’s going on already,” Gordon said. “We have history with [Frank Reich] as well, so it’d be an easy plug-in.”
There have been no indications the Colts have interest in signing Rivers. They already have Jacoby Brissett taking $21.3 million in salary cap space for the 2020 season. Adding another aging quarterback at a similar price doesn’t seem like the move for Chris Ballard.
The fit is nice. There is no denying Rivers would likely find some success working with Reich and behind the stout offensive line. But as the Colts continue to preach building for the future, signing a 38-year-old quarterback on the decline goes against that process.
We will see what free agency holds for the Colts in a month, and it should be expected for this situation to stay in discussions until Rivers finds his new home.