Who is Philip Rivers? 44-year-old quarterback staging unprecedented NFL comeback

Philip Rivers at 44-years-old was signed by the Indianapolis Colts to their practice squad. Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes ask if this is a mistake, and if the Pittsburgh Steelers silenced their critics with a win over the Baltimo...

Philip Rivers is expected to take the field for the first time in nearly five years as an NFL quarterback on Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts, at 44 years of age. 

Despite being on the brink of Hall of Fame eligibility, Rivers accepted the Colts' offer to get back in the game after the team's Week-1 starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending injury.

For Rivers, it's just another unexpected twist in one of the NFL's more unusual stories.

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Rivers is the son of Steve Rivers, the former head football coach at Decatur High School and later at Athens High School in Alabama. His mother was a teacher. 

As a child, Philip contributed to his dad's team as a ball boy, but that's not all he did. According to The Los Angeles Times, during games the young Rivers would sneak into the referees' huddle any time his dad's offense was close to a first down. There, he would observe how close the ball was to a first down, then hold his hands apart toward the sideline to signal exactly how far they had to go to move the chains. 

Colts quarterback Philip Rivers drops back to pass Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, during practice in Indianapolis. (Imagn)

"I felt like I could contribute," Rivers told the outlet. "I felt like they really needed me to tell them if it was a foot or two feet."

When the time came for him to start his own high school career, Rivers played for his father at Athens High School. However, he started his career as