Philip Rivers News: In play to start this week

Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Wednesday that he'll wait until the end of the week before deciding between Rivers and Riley Leonard (knee) as the starting quarterback for Sunday's game in Seattle, JJ Stankevitz of the team's official site reports.

Rivers, 44, hasn't played in an NFL game since Jan. 9, 2021, and he even acknowledged Wednesday that he's heavier now than he was at the time he stepped away from football, per James Boyd of The Athletic. Steichen mentioned the need to get "back into football shape" but didn't explicitly shut the door on Rivers starting immediately. It's a big ask, but the team doesn't seem to have much confidence in Leonard, who entered the season as a third-stringer and suffered a PCL injury after replacing Daniel Jones (Achilles) during Sunday's loss at Jacksonville. Leonard stayed in the game and is now practicing Wednesday, but it's possible the minor injury impacts his mobility and thus plays a role in the decision as to who starts under center in Week 15.