Chargers Legend Philip Rivers Reveals the Truth about His Near Signing With the 49ers

San Diego Chargers legend Philip Rivers joined Dr. David Chao on the podcast this week to discuss life after football and he shed some light on how close he was to signing with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2022 season.

“It was real … you probably can even tell now [but] I’m a little heavier than I was. I’m not quite my prime playing weight but there was a stretch there where I was throwing, I was putting on shoulder pads and kind of going through the route tree, my brother was catching.” Rivers said on the Sports Injury Central podcast. “I was trying to get myself in a position to at least be able to make the decision and not have to say no because I wasn’t physically ready.”

Rivers clarified that he was contacted about signing with San Francisco when Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a broken left foot in early December 2022.

While the news of his near signing came to light when Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow during the NFC Championship game, the talks of Rivers’ potential signing happened long before that late January loss. 

If the 49ers had advanced to the Super Bowl with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, it likely would have been Josh Johnson starting the big game, not Rivers.

“Was I going to sign the week of the Super Bowl and play? I don’t think I could have got there personally just because then you feel really like the guest quarterback,” Rivers said. “Does it even feel the same if you win it? Like you weren’t even part of the climb up the mountain and yet if you don’t win it it’s like ‘man they chose the wrong guy to try to save the Niners at the end.’”

Rivers, who spent 16 seasons with the Chargers before joining Indianapolis in 2020, would have been 41 years old had he chosen to sign with the 49ers in 2022.

Joe Flacco was 38 years old last season when he signed with the Browns. He started Weeks 13-17 before eventually losing to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round.

Flacco signed a one-year, $8.7 million contract to join the Indianapolis Colts as the back up behind Anthony Richardson.