Philip Rivers Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Philip Rivers reportedly contacted Dolphins, 49ers about comeback last season

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/6/23

Perhaps quarterback Philip Rivers wants to follow in the footsteps of Tom Brady and play past his 45th birthday, after all.

As shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, NFL Network personality Rich Eisen said during Monday's edition of the "Rich Eisen Show" that he heard during the NFL Combine last week that Rivers contacted the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins about coming out of retirement late this past season.

In Week 13, the 49ers were forced to play rookie Brock Purdy at quarterback after Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were lost to season-ending injuries. Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, proved to be a revelation who won seven straight starts through the playoffs until he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game.

Miami QB1 Tua Tagovailoa entered the concussion protocol shortly after the Christmas Day loss to the Green Bay Packers and didn't play again. Without Tagovailoa, the Dolphins fell to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round.

"Philip Rivers contacted both of them, is what I heard, and that's the way I heard it, to see if they would [be interested]," Eisen explained. "Didn't happen. Don't know why it didn't happen, but I heard that at the combine, that Philip, once his season was over, was kind of like, 'So the 49ers are going with Mr. Irrelevant?'"

Rich is back from Indianapolis and boy did he hear some things — his Top 5 Rumors Heard at #NFLCombine:

5. Philip Rivers
4. #DaBears
3. Lamar
2.
1. #NFL #NFLFreeAgency #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/F08mMCAcGq
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 6, 2023

Rivers featured for what is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers from 2004 through the 2019 season and earned eight Pro Bowl nods. He then spent a single campaign with the Indianapolis Colts before he retired in Jan. 2021, but it was reported in November of that year that he "would listen" if he received a call from the New Orleans Saints after Jameis Winston went down for the remainder of that season because of a torn ACL and damage to his MCL.

Rivers turned 41 years old in December and never won a Super Bowl during his lengthy career, so it's understandable he had an interest in chasing a ring with either the 49ers or Dolphins. It's unclear if any team would take a flier on signing Rivers as a free agent this offseason or if he simply wants nothing to do with summer training camp sessions and merely wishes to be available for a contender around or after Christmas 2023.

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