More than four years after his last game, Philip Rivers retires as a Charger
More than four years after his last game — a playoff loss in Buffalo with the Colts — Philip Rivers has officially retired, with the Chargers.
While stats like this aren't regularly kept, it's got to be one of the longest gaps between a player's last game and his official retirement with one of his former teams. Still, it was a nice surprise on the Monday afternoon of training-camps-are-open week. Even if my first thought was that the algorithm had dug deeper into the past than it usually does.
Rivers ranks sixth all-time in passing yards, with 63,440. More than Matt Ryan, Dan Marino, Eli Manning, Warren Moon, and (for now) Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. Rivers is also sixth in passing touchdowns with 421. More than Ryan, Marino, Eli, Moon, Ben Roethlisberger, and (for now) Stafford.
While not on the same level as the team's schedule-release videos, the segment posted on social media by the Chargers is worth your time. If only to remember his squeaky-voiced taunt to a Jaguars defender about a 'NINETY! YARD! TOUCHDOWN!'
It's a shame he never played in a Super Bowl. And it's a shame he doesn't get the attention he should. Philip Rivers was a great player, and a great character, of the past 20 years in the NFL.
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It also feels like he has more playmaking upside in his game, and if he can take another step in man coverage, he'll be recognized as one of the game's best. If this is his floor, Campbell is going to be a very good player in this league for years to come. But he has a chance to be discussed among the best in the game with another leap. He has a different approach, however. Advertisement 'I'm just out there playing football,' Campbell said. 'I'm trying to be the best Jack Campbell I can be every single day, nobody else. Whatever I got to do to make this defense the best it can be, I'm going to do it.' • Arnold (leg) and Derrick Barnes (finger) returned to practice Friday after exiting Thursday. No issues there. • Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams didn't practice Friday. It looked like wide receiver Tim Patrick was limited. • I caught up with defensive tackle Roy Lopez (foot) and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (bruised chest) briefly after practice. They're still out, but both said they expect to be back soon. • A couple of highlights from the one-on-one tackling drills: Arnold and wide receiver Jameson Williams were the first pairing. Williams got the best of Arnold with a spin move. Arnold came right back on the next matchup and stonewalled Williams upon first contact. These two are fun to watch. • Campbell and running back David Montgomery were also paired up on a rep. This drill hasn't always been too kind to Campbell — mostly because they almost always pair him against Montgomery. On the first rep, Montgomery won easily. On the second, though, Campbell laid down a huge hit that fired up the defense. It was the last rep of the drill. Great win, great way to end. • Here's Jack Campbell on Montgomery: 'David, in my opinion, is one of the hardest backs to tackle just because he can put his foot in the ground and his one-cut and his burst is insane, and he can also run you over. … He got me earlier and then I kind of went back to the line, thought about how it happened and then the next play I just let it rip and it all worked out.' • Wide receiver Dominic Lovett tried to hurdle cornerback Amik Robertson during the open-field tackling drill. It went about as well for him as you'd expect. Robertson put him in the dirt. Advertisement • Wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa was ready for the moment. He was physical in the tackling drill and used to his size to 'Moss' cornerback Avonte Maddox during a team period. • LaPorta's blocking looks like it has improved tremendously. The Lions had offensive players blocking blitzing defenders in a one-on-one drill and LaPorta won each of the two reps I saw without trouble. It was impressive stuff. • Guard Christian Mahogany just looks like a seasoned veteran. He made quick work of defensive tackle Chris Smith in the OL-DL drill. Didn't look like he broke a sweat. • The Lions spent a good portion of their team periods running the ball. Graham Glasgow handled center reps, with Tate Ratledge at right guard. The results were mixed. • Defensive lineman Keith Cooper, an undrafted free agent, got some first-team reps in the team period. Coaches are giving him opportunities.
