As often happens in the NFL, the team moves on from the player before the player is ready to move on from football. You see it time and time again. Players like Brett Favre, Tim Brown, and Jason Witten come to mind.
Such was the case for Philip Rivers, who, after 16 seasons with the Chargers, played his 17th and final season with the Colts.
Seemingly just to prove he still had something left, he played some of his best football in his one season in Indianapolis, leading the Colts to the playoffs. Then he walked away.
I don’t really know the moment I had generated immense respect and even fondness for Rivers. Perhaps it happened over time. What was initially seen by many as being poor sportsmanship that would rub some teams and fans the wrong way turned out to simply be an undying passion for the game and unapologetic competitiveness.
You can see it on display in the montage the Chargers put out on Friday.
heck of a career. heck of a man. pic.twitter.com/eGIktVX4lx
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) January 29, 2021
Known for wearing his emotions on this sleeve and all over his face, Rivers was an open book. Completely genuine. And when he wasn’t being a fiery competitor on the field, he was a loving father and kind person off of it.
If you’re a Raiders fan, you probably hated him. At least early in his career. After all, he led to Chargers on sweeps of the Raiders his first four seasons in the league — eight straight wins. His career record against the Raiders was 23-10, including last season with the Colts. And he led his team to the playoffs seven times, winning five playoff games.
Rivers has called it a career now No more snarls. No more of that weird little side-armed delivery. No more emotional press conferences. It’s the end of an era for one of the league’s great quarterbacks. And if you don’t miss that, what are you even watching football for?