The San Francisco 49ers stayed in touch with Philip Rivers throughout the 2022 season—just in case the veteran quarterback was needed. After injuries sidelined Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, the depth chart grew thin, and an inexperienced rookie by the name Brock Purdy remained largely unknown. Still, head coach Kyle Shanahan believed in the first-year signal-caller's potential.
Even with that confidence, the front office kept Rivers' number close. With two starting quarterbacks already down, the team needed a viable Plan D.
Talks with Rivers began immediately after Garoppolo's foot injury. The 49ers wanted the retired quarterback, who hadn't played since 2020, to be ready should they need him to step in.
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"I remember telling him that we really felt good about this rookie that we had, and we were having to sign other guys from other teams to even have a backup at that moment," Shanahan said on Wednesday. "So, we had no backup. We also had a rookie who was the last pick in the draft and who hadn't played a snap yet except for the mop-up time that he got, so we weren't sure where this was going to go. But we would like to see him go and see how he can do because we think he might do really well.
"But regardless, we didn't have anyone after him at the time. So that was when Philip started watching our installs, getting ready for the possibility to come here, and he would've if Brock ever got hurt."
Purdy not only held onto the starting job down the stretch, but he also ignited one of the NFL's biggest storylines of the 2022 season. The 49ers might have reached the Super Bowl with him had he not suffered an elbow injury in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In fact, Shanahan already knew that if the 49ers had managed to beat Philadelphia after Purdy's injury, they would likely have called Rivers to potentially start in the Super Bowl.
The topic has resurfaced because Rivers, now 44, ended his retirement this week, signing with the Indianapolis Colts—the team the 49ers will face in Week 16, following Sunday's matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
Shanahan explained why he believes Rivers is one of the few capable of making such a comeback after so much time away from the game.
"Well, when he played, he was one of the best quarterbacks of all time," Shanahan said. "The way, as you get older, I think mobility leaves big time, [but] arm strength doesn't always. And when you have guys that are at an elite level, who will play in the pocket, and have the size to hang in there, and still have arm strength to make the throws that you need to make, that gives guys like that an opportunity or a chance to be able to pull off something like this."
The coach added, "And I would say he's one of the few who would have a chance to do this."