Philip Rivers is back in the NFL, and it's quite the story.
The 44-year-old grandfather has signed with the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad after spending five years away from professional football.
Rivers, who became a grandad recently and has been running the show as head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, got the call from Indianapolis on Sunday night.
The father of ten worked out for the team on Monday – which happened to be his 44th birthday.
Philip Rivers, 44, has come out of retirement to join the Colts
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His signing makes him the oldest active player in the league, overtaking Pittsburgh's Aaron Rodgers, who celebrated his 42nd birthday just last week.
It's a remarkable turn of events for a player who thought his NFL days were firmly behind him.
So why the sudden comeback?
The Colts found themselves in a proper quarterback nightmare after their 36-19 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday.
Starter Daniel Jones went down with a torn Achilles that's ended his season.
His replacement, rookie Riley Leonard, picked up a knee injury during the same match.
And Anthony Richardson, the team's first-round pick from 2023, was already sidelined with a fractured orbital bone he suffered back in October.
Daniel Jones's season is over after suffering an ACL injury
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With their quarterback cupboard looking desperately bare, head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard knew exactly who to ring.
Rivers had worked with Steichen during their time together at the Chargers, where Steichen served as quarterbacks coach for Rivers' final four seasons with the franchise.
When Steichen made that Sunday night call, Rivers didn't hesitate.
"He said, 'Heck yeah, I'm interested. Heck yeah,'" Steichen told reporters on Wednesday.
The Colts brass told him to sleep on it, but by Monday morning the eight-time Pro Bowler felt just as keen.
After coming in to throw and proving he hadn't forgotten how to sling a football, Rivers made his decision from a hotel room on Tuesday.
"He said, 'Dadgummit, let's freaking go,'" Steichen recalled. "So we said, 'Let's do it.'"
Rivers got emotional when explaining his motivation, nearly holding back tears as he spoke about returning to an organisation he loves.
"Certainly I wasn't really hanging onto any hope of playing again," he admitted. "I kind of thought that ship had sailed. But something about it excited me."
Philip Rivers spent 15 years with the Chargers
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Rivers' career numbers speak for themselves – he's seventh on the NFL's all-time passing yards list with 63,440 and sixth for touchdown passes with 421.
The 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist won 134 regular-season games across his 17-year career.
If he starts against Seattle on Sunday, he'll become just the fifth quarterback aged 44 or older to do so in NFL history, joining Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon and Steve DeBerg.
The stakes couldn't be higher for Indianapolis.
After starting the season brilliantly at 8-2, three straight losses have dropped them to eighth in the AFC and outside the playoff picture.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Colts currently have a 26% chance of reaching the postseason – but a win against the Seahawks would boost that to 50%.