Philip Rivers has said all along he was thrilled to coach high school football at St. Michael Catholic down in Alabama.
But did he retire with some gas left in the tank?
The 2020 Indianapolis Colts quarterback ended up performing remarkably for how this season started. 4169 pass yards, 24 touchdowns, and the best completion percentage for a Colt since Peyton Manning doesn’t sound like your ordinary 39-year-old.
After the playoff loss in Buffalo, Chris Ballard mentioned that the two parties would take about a month to think about continuing their partnership into 2021.
It didn’t take Rivers that long though. Just a few days later he hung up the cleats. About a week before, Anthony Castonzo also retired. Rivers had one of the best offensive lines of his career this season. Did Castonzo pulling the rip chord influence #17 to do the same?
Kevin Bowen brought up that point on The Fan Morning Show Friday. He asked former Colts lineman Big Joe Staysniak about the QB and left tackle both riding off into the sunset.
“If you look at how Rivers played when Castonzo was not in there he was a totally different quarterback,” Big Joe said. “He knew that his backside was not that well protected. I thought Philip played very well in the playoff game with Jared Veldheer. But I think (Castonzo’s retirement) was huge for him.”
Ballard is going to be tasked with leading the Blue and White through one of the busiest off-seasons since he arrived to town.
Sign a left tackle, draft a quarterback, or vice versa? Big Joe commented this morning that he prefers the latter.
“I think with the way the team is built, it makes sense to have a veteran quarterback now and to draft the offensive tackle,” Big Joe added. “That way in three years when you have a young quarterback and the heir to whoever you sign now, you give him the best shot at not getting his rear-end kicked around. That way he can learn quicker and be ready to go.”
Decisions, decisions.
Tune into The Fan Morning Show weekdays from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
