Philip Rivers retires from the NFL after 17 seasons

The long standing quarterback for the LA Chargers, Philip Rivers stated that he will be retiring from the NFL. 

He spent the past 16 seasons with the Chargers, 14 of those being the starter and this past season was spent with the Indianapolis Colts before he decided to hang up the jersey. According to ESPN, he made a statement saying the NFL was his “childhood dream.”

“Every year, January 20th is a special and emotional day,” Rivers said. “It is St. Sebastian’s Feast day, the day I played in the AFC championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I’m announcing my retirement from the National Football League. Thank you God for allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL.”

When Rivers broke this announcement it came exactly 13 years to the day that he played with a torn ACL when the Chargers lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. 

Although Rivers is 39 and has never played in a Super Bowl he still has an impeccable resume. From ranking fifth in NFL history with a grand total of 63,440 passing yards, right behind Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and even Brett Farve. He is also an eight time Pro-Bowler and is number five in the league for touchdown passes with a history of 421.

Dean Spanos, owner of the LA Chargers tweeted, “there will never be another. He is the heart and soul of the organization.” 

In this past season alone Rivers has passed 4,169 yards and 24 TDs which left the Colts with a 11-5 record and a wild card pick in the AFC playoffs. Unfortunately the Colts got the boot when they lost 27-24 to the Buffalo Bills. 

Frank Reich who is the coach for the Colts, hopes Rivers will stay on for the 2021 season, “Philip still has a lot of good football [left].”

After quarterback Andrew Luck dropped the ball and left unexpectedly in the 2019 season it was Rivers who helped build the team back together. 

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Lauren Moon

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