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Troy Aikman reacts to potential of Philip Rivers joining Colts: 'I can't imagine that happening'

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels17 hours agoChandlerVessels

Some news broke Monday in the NFL world that no one was expecting to hear, as it was reported the Indianapolis Colts are bringing in Philip Rivers for a workout. The 44-year-old last played in the 2020 season, but the Colts find themselves in a desperate situation after injuries to Daniel Jones and Riley Leonard.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter joined Monday Night Countdown to break the news ahead of a contest between the Los Angeles Chargers and Phildelphia Eagles. That led to some humorous reactions from both Troy Aikman and Marcus Spears.

As Schefter was speaking, Spears leaned back and stared directly into the camera with an incredulous look on his face. Meanwhile, Aikman joked that he might be considering throwing his name into consideration given the news.

“I mean, I’ve only been out of the game for 25 years,” he said. “I mean, come on. I don’t take a paycut. I’ll sign up full salary and I’ll give them a couple downs.”

Rivers is three years older than the oldest quarterback in the NFL right now, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers. He also recently became a grandfather.

Still, he was a very effective quarterback across his 17 seasons, throwing for 63,440 yards and 421 touchdowns during his career. He played his final season with the Colts after spending 16 with the Chargers.

After the initial joking, Aikman took a more serious tone. He offered up some respect to Rivers for his career, but also tried to stay realistic about the possibility of him making a return to the NFL.

“I mean I love Philip Rivers as much as anybody, but — I can’t imagine being out of the game five years and coming back at 44 years old,” he said. “I can’t imagine that happening.”

Ryan Clark then brought up how the Colts even got in this position in the first place. After getting off to a 7-1 start this season, Indianapolis has lost four of its past five games and is free falling.

A season-ending Achilles injury then struck Jones this past week in a loss against Jacksonville. Leonard then picked up a knee injury, it was reported Monday.

That has put Indianapolis in a position where it is forced to look for a new quarterback. Rivers might not be the preferred option, but Aikman thinks the team is doing what it has to.

“Desperate times take desperate measures for all the reasons you just said,” he said. “They’re leaving no stone unturned. They’re gonna do everything that they can. So I understand kicking the tire. I’m sure they put him through a workout, see where he is and Philip’s one of the best to have ever done it, but that’s quite a challenge.”