What they're saying about Philip Rivers' NFL retirement
Here are some thoughts from those who covered Philip Rivers at NC State or professionally about No. 17's retirement from the NFL.
• Tim Peeler, TheWolfpacker.com — Personal reflections of covering Philip Rivers
Not long ago, I was listening to a tape of the first interview Rivers ever did with the media while at NC State, a mass huddle on Media Day 2000. It was the fall, so Rivers had already been on campus for a semester and essentially won the starting job as the Wolfpack’s quarterback.
There were probably 20 reporters standing around his chair outside the old Finley Fieldhouse where we would typically do interviews. The group was shouting questions to this 18-year-old kid who had graduated early from high school, began working out with the Wolfpack in spring practice and went to every class that he was scheduled to attend.
Back then, first-year coach Chuck Amato’s favorite thing to say about Rivers was that the young player should have been worrying about going to the prom, not learning offensive coordinator Norm Chow’s complicated schemes.
Naturally, that’s one of the things the gaggle of reporters asked Rivers about. He looked quizzically at the question, then sounded about 10 times more mature than the veteran reporters who were curious about it.
If you ever just sat down with him in an interview, Rivers would take a different kind of interest than most players. He would open up like few others without too much thought.
One time, he told me there was a point in his young life that he wasn’t sure he wanted to play football. He was about 4, and he liked hearing the pep band play at the high school basketball games his parents took him to.
He dreamed of being the drum major in the marching band.
His mom told him he could play quarterback in the game, change uniforms late in the second quarter and then lead the band onto the field at halftime. I doubt very seriously that he thought that was impossible.
• Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune — Philip Rivers retiring from NFL after 17 seasons
The time has come, dadgummit.
The man whose good-natured hollering was as renowned as his highly unorthodox and highly effective throws is hanging up his helmet to put on a different hat.
Philip Rivers, who came to San Diego in a draft-day trade in 2004 and played quarterback for the Chargers all but his final season in the NFL, announced his retirement Wednesday.
“It’s just time,” Rivers told the Union-Tribune late Tuesday night from his home in Indianapolis, where earlier this month he completed his only season with the Colts. “It’s just right.”
Rivers, who wore No. 17 throughout his 17 seasons, played in 244 regular season games, starting the final 240 of those without interruption. That streak is the second-longest ever by an NFL quarterback behind Brett Favre’s 297.
His retirement comes 13 years to the day since Rivers played in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots just six days after undergoing surgery to remove the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
It is a day that has long been dear to the devout Catholic, as Jan. 20 is the Roman Catholic Church’s St. Sebastian feast day. Sebastian is often referred to as the patron saint of athletes.
Rivers, 39, finishes his career ranked fifth all-time with 63,440 passing yards and 421 touchdown passes.
“I can sit here and say, ‘I can still throw it. I love to play,’ ” Rivers said. “But that’s always going to be there. I’m excited to go coach high school football.”
On the day Philip Rivers signed with the Colts in March, a high-ranking team official responded to my inquisitive texts about what might constitute success for their new quarterback with one, nondescript line:
“We’ll see.”
On its face, the statement didn’t say much. About the only thing I took away was that it might be an attempt to lower expectations for what was then a 38-year-old quarterback coming off a 20-interception season in 2019.
Frankly, “we’ll see” was pretty much where I stood on the whole idea of adding Rivers. It had the potential to end well, I figured, but also had the chance to be a disappointing experiment for a team that considered itself ready to compete for a championship.
At best, I viewed Rivers as a slight upgrade. At worst, I feared he might be a reason for their struggles.
Much time has passed since that “we’ll see” comment and, yes, we have seen.
Personally, here’s what I see: That I was wrong about Philip Rivers.
Months later, I see what the fuss was all about. I see why he is beloved by fans and teammates alike. I see, most of all, why he enjoyed so much success during a 17-year career that officially ended on Wednesday when the longtime Chargers and, now, Colts quarterback, announced his retirement.
*All nine ESPN NFL Experts answered "yes" in some form when answering if Rivers is a Hall of Famer.
Jeremy Fowler, national NFL writer: Yes. The numbers are there, ranking top five in many career passing categories. The toughness is there, playing in every game since 2006 despite a litany of injuries. He doesn't have a Super Bowl, but his 5-7 playoff record is respectable, and where you play matters. The Chargers were long considered the Bengals of the West Coast. He elevated the franchise.
Dan Graziano, national NFL writer: Yes, of course he should. He's top five in yards and touchdowns and started 240 games in a row. It's a silly question, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process has done dumber things than make a guy like this wait, so you never know.
Field Yates, NFL analyst: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Hall of Fame debates are boring. Philip Rivers hasn’t been retired for more than a few hours at the time I’m writing this and I’m already over the debate surrounding his candidacy. Of course, I’m only adding to the discourse by writing this but I’m here only to say one thing: We don’t have to do this.
There’s no need to overthink this one. Rivers is a Hall of Famer.
Now I could spend the next few hundred words listing all of Rivers’ statistical accomplishments. I could point to all of the passing yards and touchdowns he’s stacked over the last two decades. I could bring up all the efficiency metrics that show he wasn’t just a compiler, either. I can rebut your “WHerE aRE tHe rINgS???” argument by recounting all of that bad Chargers luck that prevented him from winning some more games.
(If you really want an argument for why Rivers is worthy of Canton, just look at his Pro Football Reference page. It’s all there. Just make sure to check out the era-adjusted numbers on there and compare it to some of your favorites quarterbacks who own a gold jacket.)
There are two quarterbacks who played a majority of their careers in the Super Bowl era, never made a Super Bowl but still made the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
One was Warren Moon, whose Hall of Fame resume was bolstered by great years in the Canadian Football League and five championships there.
That leaves one player whose HOF candidacy is most like Philip Rivers, who retired Wednesday. And, sadly for Chargers fans, it’s Dan Fouts.
Fouts put up great numbers and was a tremendous leader for a Chargers team that was very good but never got to the Super Bowl. Fouts never won an MVP, but was consistently one of the best quarterbacks of his era. Fouts wasn’t just a Hall of Famer, he got in on the first ballot.
• Ryan Phillips, The Big Lead — Yes, Philip Rivers Belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Philip Rivers announced his retirement on Monday after 17 NFL seasons. After an incredible career, many were asking whether Rivers was Hall of Fame worthy following his announcement. I'm here to definitively tell you that Rivers is absolutely worthy of enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and will make it when he's eligible in 2026.
Despite a unique, awkward delivery, average arm strength, and the agility of a dump truck, Rivers made it work. He relied on pinpoint accuracy and a deep knowledge of the game to give himself a leg up. He was one of the smartest players in the NFL, and often mixed in enough trash talk to fill hours of NFL Films archives -- though he never swore. He was the ultimate character and his love for the game shined through in everything he did. But what often got lost in the footage of his goofy exuberance was that he was a really good quarterback.
• Pat McAfee, The Pat McAfee Show — Reacting to Philip Rivers' Retirement; Is he a Hall of Famer?
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