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Stephen Holder
INDIANAPOLIS — Philip Rivers had been on the Indianapolis Colts’ roster for less than 24 hours, but he was already taking center stage, capturing the full attention of his teammates.
Wednesday morning, when the Colts reconvened as a full unit to begin the week’s game prep, coach Shane Steichen gave Rivers the floor in a team meeting. Rivers, who shocked the NFL this week with his decision to come out of retirement to help quarterback the Colts after five years away from the NFL, capably took full advantage of the moment.
Even with his brief remarks, Rivers brought a needed jolt to a team that has experienced a series of destabilizing setbacks.
“He said, ‘You know what? I think for most people you always know what this game comes to, and at some point I thought it’d be over,'” center Tanor Bortolini said, recalling Rivers’ animated speech. “‘So, it’s pretty cool to be back. And I don’t take this for granted at all.’
“You just know that he’s going to give everything he has.”
After starting quarterback Daniel Jones sustained a torn right Achilles in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Colts’ postgame locker room scene was that of a team in mourning. The silence was deafening, with players coming to terms with their recent three-game losing streak, their dwindling playoff hopes and the season-ending loss of a beloved teammate.
Receiver Alec Pierce, showing his emotions on his face, struggled to deal with the realities after the game.
“I still haven’t processed it,” Pierce said in the visitor’s locker room at EverBank Stadium. “I feel terrible for him.”
That left Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard to consider their options at quarterback. Rivers — with whom Steichen has years of history during their concurrent time in the Chargers organization — was one of the first possibilities the coach considered.
Rivers’ intimate knowledge of the Colts’ offensive system, which remains largely the same as the one they used with the Chargers, will position him to help right away if he proves his 44-year-old body can handle the rigors. Rivers already appears to be trending toward being the starter when the Colts play a road contest against the Seattle Seahawks (10-3) on Sunday. Riley Leonard, who had been Jones’ backup, has practiced this week — he was a full participant Wednesday and Thursday — but has a right knee injury that he sustained against Jacksonville. His status for Sunday has not been determined.
But there was an extra benefit to the idea of adding Rivers: The Colts would also get the limitless energy he brings to every room he enters. Rivers carries himself like he has had one too many lattes, whether it’s in the meeting room or on the practice field. And that youthful enthusiasm and competitiveness was a needed quality for a lifeless team that has lost four of its past five games.
“He does give us juice, I’ll tell you that,” Steichen said. “I know that. He’s going to have a ton of it, so I think that helps for sure. I definitely think it helps.”
That was part of the motivation for Steichen changing Wednesday’s schedule from a walk-through to a full practice.
“I think the biggest thing is I wanted to get some juice going this week for sure,” Steichen said. “And then, obviously, it also helped with Philip, too. Being in here, getting some reps.”
Part of that effort to produce some “juice” was allowing Rivers to address his new teammates Wednesday morning.
Rivers’ message to the 8-5 Colts, who still have very realistic playoff odds: The season is not over.
“He said, ‘We’ve got a pretty good record now,'” guard Matt Goncalves said. “He said, ‘Why not us?’ Basically, he said to keep our heads up because anything can happen.”
Running back Jonathan Taylor is one of 15 current Colts who played alongside Rivers in his one season with the franchise in 2020. And one of the defining memories of Rivers’ time in Indy, Taylor said, was the boost he provided with his mere presence.
“Being able to kind of have some of that energy that we had beforehand, I think that it was really nice, and I think that we’re going to continue to use that,” Taylor said. “Obviously, we have to go and execute out at practice and make sure it translates on Sunday. But just from an energy, a vibe, a juice standpoint, I think it was really good.”
There’s a palpable buzz in the building this week as players and staff look ahead to a huge challenge against Seattle. A shot at the playoffs will always grab a team’s attention. But the return of Rivers has a lot to do with it, too.
“It’s actually pretty cool to see him here back in the flesh,” Taylor said. “And it’s still the same ol’ Phil. He’s just awesome.”