Seahawks will face Philip Rivers as Colts activate him

13 Dec 2025, 09:40 by Bob Condotta · The Seattle Times

What the Seahawks were anticipating all along — that Philip Rivers will start against them Sunday — is happening.

The Colts on Saturday morning officially activated Rivers to their 53-man roster from the practice squad and the NFL Network, the league’s official media outlet, reported that Rivers will start Sunday when the Seahawks host the Colts at Lumen Field at 1:25 p.m.

The move comes after it was revealed on Tuesday that the Colts were signing Rivers after starting quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury last Sunday against Jacksonville.

But the move to start Rivers is one the Seahawks said they figured would happen from the moment they heard he’d signed.

“I’m expecting him to play,” Seahawks rush end Uchenna Nwosu, who played with Rivers for two seasons with the Chargers, said Wednesday. “They didn’t bring him in there for no reason.”

The Colts also have rookie Riley Leonard available. He entered the week considered a question mark after suffering a knee injury against Jacksonville. But he practiced fully all week and was not given an injury status for Sunday’s game.

The NFL Network reported that Leonard could also play, noting that he and Rivers shared first-team reps in practice.

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But Rivers is expected to start in his first game since he started a wild card playoff game for the Colts on Jan. 9, 2021 at Buffalo, a game the Bills won 27-24.

Rivers, who turned 44 on Monday, is the father of 10 and became a grandfather last fall, has been working as the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala.

But the Colts lured him out of retirement largely because of his experience in the system of coach Shane Steichen, who was on the coaching staff of the Chargers for eight of the years that Rivers played there from 2004-19. Steichen served as the quarterbacks coach from 2016-19 and for part of the 2019 season as interim offensive coordinator.

“I’ll say it was pretty good,” Steichen said of how Rivers practiced this week. “A guy that hasn’t been out there in five years, to go and practice the way he did this week was pretty impressive to watch.”

Seahawks coaches said they prepared for Rivers and Leonard this week.

“You’re talking about a really good player that you have to prepare for, and I think that’s just this league,” defensive coordinator Aden Durde said of the possibility of Rivers playing. “Every week is ever-changing, and people get hurt. It’s an unfortunate part of the game, and new people come in. We just have to have that mindset of we’re preparing for who we have to play.”

A few Seahawks have played against him, including veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams in a 2018 game while with the New York Jets.

“It’s been a long time, but from what I remember of him he was a great leader,” Williams said of Rivers, who has the sixth-most passing yards in NFL history at 63,440. “He played in the league for a long time, understands football and coverages, pretty much seen it all. He can make all the passes. I think regardless of who plays on Sunday, we can’t overlook anybody. I don’t care how old he is or how long he’s been out of retirement and all the other things. We have to attack them how we would any other quarterback.”

Jarran Reed got a sack on Rivers in a game at Lumen Field in 2018 when Rivers led the Chargers to a 25-17 victory over the Seahawks.

“Veteran quarterback,” Reed said this week. “Smart. He’s seen every type of defense that you can name. Knows where to go with the ball. I don’t know what to expect to be honest. I don’t know which quarterback we’ll see, but he’s coming off the couch after five years, so we’ll see on Sunday.”