Philip Rivers reportedly contacted Dolphins, 49ers about comeback last season

Perhaps quarterback Philip Rivers wants to follow in the footsteps of Tom Brady and play past his 45th birthday, after all. 

As shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, NFL Network personality Rich Eisen said during Monday’s edition of the “Rich Eisen Show” that he heard during the NFL Combine last week that Rivers contacted the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins about coming out of retirement late this past season. 

In Week 13, the 49ers were forced to play rookie Brock Purdy at quarterback after Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were lost to season-ending injuries. Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, proved to be a revelation who won seven straight starts through the playoffs until he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game. 

Miami QB1 Tua Tagovailoa entered the concussion protocol shortly after the Christmas Day loss to the Green Bay Packers and didn’t play again. Without Tagovailoa, the Dolphins fell to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. 

“Philip Rivers contacted both of them, is what I heard, and that’s the way I heard it, to see if they would [be interested],” Eisen explained. “Didn’t happen. Don’t know why it didn’t happen, but I heard that at the combine, that Philip, once his season was over, was kind of like, ‘So the 49ers are going with Mr. Irrelevant?'”