Going back to the longtime quarterback’s prep days in Athens, Alabama, then on to North Carolina State, the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Chargers and, ultimately, the Indianapolis Colts, Rivers’ jersey has always been adorned with No. 17.
However when the 44-year-old, who’s been coaching high school football in his native Alabama, came out of retirement this week, rejoining the Colts five years after he last played for them − essentially to help fill the void created when QB1 Daniel Jones suffered an Achilles tear Sunday − there seemed to be one minor issue: 17 was Jones’ number.
Problem solved.
Jones’ season is most certainly over, and his time with Indianapolis could be, too, given he’s unsigned for 2026 and beyond. Either way, he surrendered the number to Rivers, who talked about the transfer Wednesday while meeting with reporters.
Rivers said he’d texted with Jones about the matter and called him ‘gracious’ for giving up 17.
‘That was certainly meaningful to me,’ said Rivers. ‘And obviously didn’t want it to be like this.
‘All this happened so fast. But (appreciate) him being gracious and saying, ‘Shoot, heck yeah. Go for it.’
Rivers wore a red non-contact No. 17 during Wednesday’s practice.
Rivers also addressed his return to the team, joking about doing a live press conference given his last ones as a player were done on Zoom calls in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed gratefulness to the Colts organization, acknowledged late owner Jim Irsay’s belief in him during his opportunity in 2020 − not coincidentally, the last time Indy reached postseason − and noted the environment at the facility felt quite familiar, adding that he was rejoining 14 former teammates and several support staffers who were also with the club during his previous tenure.
He said Shane Steichen, who was also a longtime assistant on Rivers’ Chargers teams, is ‘a coach that I love.’
‘They wanted me,’ said Rivers.
‘A game I love to play. A game that I thought I was done playing certainly − I wasn’t really hanging onto any hope of playing again. I’d kinda thought that ship had sailed.
‘But something about it excited me. Kinda one of those deals − a door opens, and you can either walk through it and find out if you can do it or run from it.’