Will Philip Rivers Play This Season? Latest Odds & Prediction After Colts Sign Retired NFL QB

Will Philip Rivers play in the NFL this season? What would have seemed like a joke mere days ago turned into a potential reality on Tuesday, when the Indianapolis Colts coaxed the 44-year-old quarterback out of retirement and onto their practice squad.

He has a legitimate chance to play as soon as this week with Daniel Jones (Achilles), Riley Leonard (knee), and Anthony Richardson (eye) all injured entering the Colts' Week 15 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. And you can profit if he takes a snap for Indianapolis - or any other team - over the final four weeks of the season.

Will Philip Rivers play this season?

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After Jones went down with a season-ending injury on Sunday, the Colts turned to their rookie passer Leonard, who finished out that costly 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But after he reported a knee issue to the team on Monday morning, rumors swirled about Rivers' potential interest in joining the team he left in 2020.

Those rumors became reality on Tuesday, when he signed to the practice squad with Leonard seeming unlikely to suit up next Sunday against the Seahawks' juggernaut defense. And with Richardson still on injured reserve with an orbital fracture he suffered in October, Brett Rypien is the only other quarterback on the roster.

That has led to a flurry of activity in the prediction markets with Rivers' chances to play peaking at a 87.5% chance this afternoon before dipping as low as 67% in the immediate aftermath of his signing with the Colts.

Will Philip Rivers play this week?

Desperation is a powerful force in the NFL, and the sheer necessity of needing a healthy human being under center could drive the Colts to promote Rivers - who played one season for the Colts in 2020 before retiring after 17 seasons - to the active roster ahead of their Week 15 tilt in Seattle.

Still, with Rypien as an available option for Indianapolis, I'd be shocked to see the team force Rivers into a potentially dangerous spot against one of the best defenses in recent memory. Let's not forget, either, that Rivers posted two of his worst seasons as a pro before deciding to hang it up after the 2020 season.

All of that signals potential value on buying stock on "no" for Rivers' chances to play this season, especially with this market peaking as high as a 87.5% chance this afternoon before settling around a 70% chance. I'd grab "no" at anything better than 50 cents - and if Rivers does suit up this weekend, I'd be all over the Seahawks to win convincingly.