How the Indianapolis Colts can replace Philip Rivers in 2021
The Indianapolis Colts signed Philip Rivers to a one-year pact in 2020 worth $25 million in total money.
Rivers made good on his pact, completing his 17th NFL season and helping lead the Colts to the postseason where they had a shot to truly compete in the AFC.
Unfortunately for Rivers and the Colts, the one-year window closed in round one of the playoffs with a very narrow three-point loss on the road to the Buffalo Bills, who are now playing for the chance to go to the Super Bowl.
Rivers is moving on to the next chapter of his life after 17 tremendous seasons in the NFL, announcing his retirement from pro football.
Philip Rivers’ statement to ESPN is dadgum tremendous: pic.twitter.com/30KaEFGy0X
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 20, 2021
No matter if you’re a fan of the Chargers (or Colts) or not, you’ve got to appreciate what Rivers brought to the game. He has been so good for so long now, and it’s easy to forget just how good he and the Chargers were, especially in the mid-late 2000s.
While the countdown for Rivers’ induction is now just under five years and counting, the clock is ticking a bit more urgently for the Indianapolis Colts.
Signing Rivers for a year was a calculated decision, obviously, and the Colts knew that they might have to replace Rivers in the event that he retired. The hope was probably that he would retire into the sunset, but the Colts have a strong roster ready to compete nonetheless.
What’s the top option for the Colts to replace Rivers?
Do the Colts make a bold move for Matthew Stafford? Will they try to get Jimmy Garoppolo from the 49ers? Those two teams do have some recent trade history…
The Colts have plenty of salary cap space to work with and a really talented roster on both sides of the ball. The great news for them going into the 2021 offseason, even with the rumored drop in salary cap number all across the board in the NFL, is that truly no option is off the table.
The quarterback market in free agency in 2021 is not the same as we saw a year ago with players like Rivers, Tom Brady, even Drew Brees all available. This offseason, the top options include the Colts’ own Jacoby Brissett, Mitch Trubisky, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton, and Tyrod Taylor.
No one seems to think Dak Prescott is getting out of Dallas, which means the top options could come as cap casualties or via trade.
Considering the salary cap reduction might take some time to go back up, will teams be as willing to take on veteran contracts in trades this year? That remains to be seen, but the Colts’ estimated cap space of nearly $69 million means that really any option is available to them.
In case the offseason is substantially affected by COVID-19 again, we could see teams pursuing players with more coaching connections than in the past, and that’s already pretty common league-wide.
For that reason bringing back Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starter in 2021 makes plenty of sense, but the Colts would undoubtedly be pairing Brissett with a 2021 NFL Draft selection at the position.
At pick 21 overall, which quarterback is realistically going to be available to the Colts? Alabama’s Mac Jones?
What about guys who could be let go from other teams?
Colts head coach Frank Reich won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the quarterback he had for that epic postseason run was none other than Nick Foles, Mr. Philly Special himself.
Foles has obviously not found his footing outside of the Eagles in the NFL but the Colts could potentially be a great situation for him to really rehab his value.
Foles forged a strong bond with Reich in their time together, and the Colts might see the value in a reunion there.
I’m proposing for the Colts not only to acquire Foles and reunite him with Frank Reich, but also for them to take the talented Trey Lance out of North Dakota State in the 2021 NFL Draft.
This would require the Colts trading up, but Colts general manager Chris Ballard is no stranger to making bold moves and, incidentally, also has a history with Foles (Kansas City, 2016).
The NFL is all about connections, and in 2021, perhaps even more so. The Colts will need someone to hold the fort down at quarterback and Foles could do that for a reasonable price and in a situation where he would be very comfortable.
Although losing Rivers is not ideal, the Colts have a very good all-around roster to put around whoever the next quarterback ends up being.