Philip Rivers announced his retirement after 17 NFL seasons.
Colts general manager had said Rivers would make a decision about his retirement next month, but Rivers, 39, only needed two weeks to say he would leave the game after 16 years with the Chargers and one season with Indianapolis. Rivers, who will become the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, threw for at least 30 touchdowns six times in his career, topping 4,500 passing yards in five seasons. Incredibly, he didn’t miss a game since taking over as the Chargers’ starting QB in 2006. Rivers and the Chargers had a run of excellent regular seasons with LaDainian Tomlinson as the team’s offensive centerpiece, only to falter in the postseason, sometimes in heart wrenching fashion. In his only season with the Colts, Rivers led the team to the playoffs before losing to the Bills in the Wild Card round. Rivers’ oddball sidearm delivery will go down as one of the quirkiest and most effective throwing motions in league history. The Colts will bring in new quarterbacks via the NFL draft or free agency -- perhaps both. QB Jacoby Brissett is an unrestricted free agent.