Philip Rivers is back under center, and no-this isn’t a drill.
At 44 years old, the former Chargers and Colts quarterback made a surprise return to the NFL, suiting up for Indianapolis in Week 15 and nearly leading them to a win over the playoff-hopeful Seattle Seahawks. And while some around the league may have chuckled at the idea of Rivers stepping back into the fire after nearly four years away from game action, one person who isn’t laughing? Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers head coach spoke with reporters on Monday and didn’t hold back when asked about Rivers’ return.
“I actually got to talk to him a little bit last week and I admire the hell out of it,” Shanahan said during a conference call. “I think he's capable of it.
What he did last night, he gave that team a chance to win. So we all know he is-everyone's seen that he's capable of it.”
And Shanahan’s not wrong. Rivers hadn’t played a snap since January 2021, but on Sunday, he looked like a quarterback who still had something left in the tank.
It wasn’t a stat-sheet stunner-18 of 27 for 120 yards, one touchdown, one interception-but it was gutsy. He had the Colts in position to beat a playoff-caliber Seahawks team before Jason Myers drilled a 56-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to steal the win for Seattle.
That kind of performance, especially after such a long layoff, earned Rivers more than a nod of respect from Shanahan.
“The way he plays and the style he plays with, I respect him as much as any quarterback I've ever studied,” Shanahan said.
Let’s not forget: this is a 44-year-old father of 10-and now a grandfather-stepping back into the NFL pocket, taking hits from defensive ends nearly half his age. Rivers was sacked once and hit four times in the game, and yet there he was, still standing tall in the pocket, still slinging it with that unmistakable sidearm motion.
That old-school toughness? Shanahan sees it-and he respects it.
“Just growing up over [these] last 20 years or whatever, what I admire the most is someone at that age to be able to come in there and want to play the right way, which is hanging in that pocket and taking some of those hits,” Shanahan explained. “That is something that gets very old fast to a lot of people.”
And here’s the thing-this isn’t just coach-speak. Shanahan has long been a fan of Rivers’ game.
Back in 2022, when Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a season-ending injury, Shanahan gave real thought to pulling Rivers out of retirement. That didn’t materialize, but the respect clearly never faded.
“For him to still have that toughness and that competitiveness... he's not going to get into anything unless he's all about it and 100-percent in,” Shanahan said. “That's why he made the decision and that's why I think he's giving them a good chance to win and helping their team.”
The connection between Rivers and the 49ers runs a little deeper, too. Rivers has a longstanding relationship with San Francisco assistant head coach of defense Gus Bradley-who coached him in both San Diego and with the Colts. That relationship helped spark a recent phone call between Rivers and Shanahan, one that started with admiration and ended with a bit of friendly regret.
“I was telling him how cool it would be,” Shanahan said, recalling the conversation. “And then at about 10 seconds into it I realized that we were playing against him in 10 days. So, I tried to kind of sway away from that and tell him how dumb it would be, but it didn't work.”
Now, Shanahan and the 49ers will have to game-plan for a quarterback who, yes, may be older than some of his teammates’ parents-but who still knows how to manage a game, rally a team, and make life difficult for a defense.
As Monday Night Football approaches and the 49ers prepare to face the Colts in Week 16, there’s no doubt: Rivers’ return is real, and Shanahan knows it. The jokes may have started when Rivers picked up the phone, but the film doesn’t lie-he’s back, and he’s still got some fight left in him.