Will Philip Rivers Start Against Seahawks?
- Rivers may start after impressive practice, but age/mobility concerns vs. Seattle's defense
- Colts need strong run game, defense to support Rivers if he plays
- Roster moves loom to elevate Rivers from practice squad for Sunday
INDIANAPOLIS – The signs continue to point towards Philip Rivers being the starting quarterback for the first time since the 2020 season.
Following the team’s final practice of the week, Shane Steichen wouldn’t commit to a starting quarterback for Sunday in Seattle.
Since the start of the week though, multiple indicators have pointed to Rivers being the guy when 4:25 PM rolls around.
Sunday will mark 1,800 days since Rivers last threw a pass in an NFL game.
“Pretty impressive to watch,” was how Steichen described the 3 days of practice from Rivers, after the future Hall of Famer has been away from 5 years.
Steichen came away struck again by the preparation and mental acumen of the 44-year-old Rivers.
Any way to gauge the in-game cardio though if Rivers is to suit up against one of the best defenses in the NFL?
“You got to go out there and do it,” Steichen said.
One of the bigger hurdles to clear this week has been making sure Rivers recovers properly from a daily practice routine.
If Rivers is the guy on Sunday, he will do it facing a Seattle defense that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the last two weeks.
For the Colts to have a chance on Sunday, what would they need from Rivers?
The obvious is help around him, like reviving a struggling run game and playing better defense.
For Rivers, the Colts will be banking on chess matching their way into being in the right play pre-snap, him to get the ball out quick (especially with a rookie starting at right tackle), and distributing the ball to a skill group that is better than what the veteran QB played with in 2020.
Of course, there are questions, very legitimate ones, with some scary answers. Is there fading velocity in the arm strength of the 44-year-old Rivers? If so, the Seahawks could be feasting on potential turnover opportunities? Never known as a scrambler, an even more statue Rivers means the longer a play goes, the higher the chance for a sack. Simply, Rivers is not creating off script.
Peppering tight ends is probably a safe bet from Rivers.
Deep shots to Alec Pierce though? That successful attribute to the Colts offense is likely to be limited with Rivers under center.
Despite a knee injury to Riley Leonard, the rookie QB did go on to be a full participant in practice all week long.
Currently, the Colts have both Leonard and Brett Rypien on the 53-man roster. The next roster move to watch is a practice squad elevation for Rivers (can elevate him 3 times in a season), or signing him to the 53-man roster. Those moves typically occur on Saturday.
In other Colts injury news, veteran DeForest Buckner (neck) won’t be promoted off of injured reserve this week. Buckner did practice all week but his month-long absence.
The Colts did rule 3 players out on Friday: CB-Sauce Gardner (calf), RT-Braden Smith (calf, neck), WR-Anthony Gould (foot).
Without Smith, the Colts will not have their normal starting 5 offensive linemen in a game for just the second time all season.
