The San Francisco 49ers remain locked in on their Week 15 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, but once that game is in the books, their attention will quickly shift to their Week 16 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, who are dealing with a difficult quarterback situation.
Starter Daniel Jones suffered a torn Achilles on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, ending his season. Jones had revived his career in Indianapolis, helping the team surge to a 7-1 start. Since then, however, the Colts have dropped three straight and four of their last five, slipping to 8-5 and putting their playoff hopes at risk.
According to multiple NFL insiders, Indianapolis is set to host longtime Chargers star Philip Rivers for a visit. Rivers last played in 2020, his lone season with the Colts, when he threw for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions before announcing his retirement. That year marked his 12th career season surpassing the 4,000-yard passing mark. In total, Rivers spent 17 seasons in the NFL and earned eight Pro Bowl selections.
Interestingly, the 49ers acknowledged that they briefly considered adding Rivers after Brock Purdy's elbow injury in the NFC Championship Game. The move would have happened only if the 49ers had defeated the Eagles and advanced to the Super Bowl, but Philadelphia ultimately prevailed and represented the NFC.
The 49ers had considered signing Rivers earlier that season after losing Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to season-ending injuries. Purdy's emergence, however, helped propel the 49ers all the way to the NFC title game.
In 2023, reflecting on that moment, head coach Kyle Shanahan said, "All I'm thinking is, man, I hope Brock's not as bad as they're saying, and I hope someone like Philip Rivers is working out and ready to go here in two weeks because that's still our plan."
Now, there's a real possibility the 49ers could face the 44-year-old Rivers when they travel to Indianapolis for a Monday night game on December 22.
This wouldn't be the first time Philip Rivers was close to coming out of retirement. Kyle Shanahan said in 2023 that Rivers was the contingency plan if the 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LVII and ran out of QBs.
Now, it's the Colts who may break glass in case of emergency. pic.twitter.com/MAmpuvS3oq
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 9, 2025