By Jordan Long
The L.A. Chargers ended the 2019 season at 5-11, last in the AFC West Division. They have decided to move on from quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers is a free agent and will now decide if and where he wants to continue his career.
Rivers has the desire to keep playing. Teams who may look for a quarterback in the offseason are the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Indianapolis has a young quarterback in Jacoby Brissett who guided them to a 7-8 record. He passed for 2,942 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was seeing the football field well and not forcing the football into double coverage. He was picked off 6 times.
If the Colts are interested in Rivers, it might be as a backup. He would need to compete with Brian Hoyer to earn a spot on the team. Rivers may not want to go there. He intends to be a starter.
Tampa Bay makes the most sense. Their quarterback for the last 5 years has been Jameis Winston. Winston struggled to read the defenses this season. He tossed 30 interceptions, far too many. The Buccaneers some how went 7-9 with Winston’s struggles at quarterback.
Rivers might be the answer at quarterback. He can read the defenses better but Rivers still tries to throw the football into double coverage. Those are picked off which could lead to more points for the opponents. At least Rivers wouldn’t have to compete for the starting job. The Buccaneers may improve in the standings a little bit with Rivers but wouldn’t be a playoff team with him.
Rivers wants to win a Super Bowl. He has yet to advance to one. Indianapolis is closer than Tampa Bay to make the playoffs. Both teams are a few years off from being Super Bowl contenders. It could be Rivers won’t earn a Super Bowl ring even if he chooses to keep playing. Rivers will test the free agent market. This will determine his future.
The other option for Rivers is to leave the game of football. He is 38 and will turn 39 in December. If he decides to walk away, Rivers accomplished plenty in his career. Rivers was voted into the Pro Bowl 8 times. Rivers’ record in the regular season is 123-101. He also won 5 games in the playoffs. His regular and postseason victories are 128, ranking 9th all time. Rivers passed for 59,271 yards, 6th in NFL history. Those show he could walk away and still be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
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