Philip Rivers Colts Return: Kids’ Reaction at 44

It’s not every day you see a 44-year-old sign an NFL contract, and for Philip Rivers — who is returning to the Colts after leaving football five years ago — the excitement in his family is off the charts.

The Indianapolis Colts made an unusual move this week by reaching out to the former quarterback who had spent what he thought was his final year in the NFL in 2020. The Colts lost several key players to injury and decided to bring Rivers back to the practice squad just in case.

With Daniel Jones out with a torn Achilles tendon and backup QB Riley Leonard hampered by a knee injury, the Colts seemingly felt a little light on backups. And when management reached out to Rivers to see if he wanted to return, according to reports he replied“Dagummit, let’s go!”

The now former player also says his family is very excited about his return to the Colts, especially his young children.

“They were very helpful,” Rivers said the media, second Illustrated sport. “I think my younger kids are more excited, I shouldn’t say more excited, they’re excited because they don’t remember Daddy playing. My six-year-old son asked me about four months ago, ‘Dad, why don’t you play anymore?’ And I say, “Honey, I’m sorry, but the best you’re going to get is me coaching on the sidelines.”

“My guys are excited, obviously,” Rivers added. “But they share the same feeling, a little nervous. Like, ‘Dad, do you think you can do it?’ And then my older girls are really excited, because they’re a little confused. They say, ‘Man, I was 12,’ some of them. Now, suddenly, they’re grown up, married, and remember going to the baseball game when they were 16. It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours, I will say.”