Philip Rivers has announced that he is retiring from the National Football League after 17 sensational seasons as a quarterback.

16 of them, of course, in San Diego or then Los Angeles with the Chargers and then played this last year with Indianapolis.

I just jotted down a few quick numbers here.

He started the last 240 games of his career.

That's the second longest streak by an NFL quarterback ever behind.

Only, of course, Brett Farve.

He's 39 years old.

He finishes fifth all time in yards passing and fifth all time in touchdown passes.

Hey, has a standing offer to go become a prep school coach is gonna go coach high school football in Alabama.

It's what he's wanted to do, and he is now going to go do it.

So again, Philip Rivers, after 17 seasons announcing his retirement.

Dominique, you would have gone up against him directly.

Yes, what can you tell us about playing against Philip Rivers?

Yeah, I played against him all the way back in college when he was at N.

C.

State, and he had that unorthodox, unusual throwing motion But somehow it was always effective, and it was really nice to see his career end on a somewhat positive note.

I know they lost, but he played well in that game throughout much of the season, where he was up and down.

So Philip Rivers is obviously gonna be a first ballot Hall of Famer, even though he's never gotten to that Super Bowl.

Never won a Super Bowl, never even playing in the Super Bowl.

But throughout all this time, he's been one of the best quarterbacks in the league and had a tremendous career.

So it's gonna be incredibly interesting if someone has a camera on him while he's while he's coaching high school football because he is an animated guy who doesn't curse, so you don't have to worry about that.

But he has the animated, intense competitors, and it's gonna be funny watching him trying to influence the game when he has no other influence after the opening kickoff.

He will always be remembered, I think, in a number of ways, one of them is a member of the legendary 2004 quarterback class.

Yes, he was the second quarterback taken in that class actually drafted by the Giants and then traded on the day of the draft for Eli Manning.

But Eli was in that draft and Ben Roethlisberger in that draft.

Now Ben three.

Only one left, he would.

What would you say about Philip Rivers?

Is a player?

Oh, man, I have so much always respected Philip Rivers from afar.

Just the energy.

One of the toughest competitors that we've seen come into the National Football League.

A two quarterback position.

He's, you know, like Dominic.

Say it was always animated and, you know, this is a guy that you know, like he would throw interception and he would just keep slinging it.

No question he wouldn't back down from anyone.

And, uh, he, you know, he's had a tremendous career over, you know, playing with the San Diego Chargers and ultimately ending with the Indianapolis Colts.

And like I said, I just I respect his career so much, man, because of the energy he brought to the field each and every each and every game.

So my head, you know, I tip my hat to Philip Rivers.

Tremendous career.

And if the most important ability and football is availability again, he started the last 240 games of his career on a You didn't want to play in the Super Bowl.

Excuse me.

He played in the A F C championship game, six days after tearing his A c l played and lost to new influx in that game.

I was just reading the story about that, actually, as I was going through as many notes as I could during our break as we got the news here.

But that was the only A F C championship game that he got to during his career and again played six days after tearing his A C L and ultimately lost that game to the Patriots.

Graziano e.

I hate to even take the subject away from him directly, but his retirement.

Indianapolis does open an interesting door for a really good team with a lot of really good players that now needs a quarterback.

And people will start looking to Carson Wentz in Philadelphia because of the history of the relationship with the coach Frank right now, the head coach in Indianapolis, who was his guy in Philly when he was at his best.

What do you expect?

The Colts to do?

Yeah.

Look, they'll cast a wide net.

They're in the same position last year, right?

A ready made team, A good playoff caliber team needing a quarterback.

And they're going to be that again.

Uh, there was a rivers Frank, right?

Connection from Raikes time in San Diego.

So that made sense.

People will make the ones connection.

Uh, the eagles at this point aren't interested in moving whence we'll see what develops is the off season goes along, but there will be options will be interesting options on the quarterback market.

We've talked about the possibility of guys like Jimmy Garoppolo being available.

Matthew Stafford being available.

You know, the Colts will have options.

But Green, do you mind?

You mind?

I have some memories of Philip Rivers.

Personally, I think this was as a reporter.

This was a man who was consistently generous with his time and insight.

And I know I always appreciated that.

I know a lot of colleagues of mine have said the same thing.

Just an incredibly genuine, uh, individual who felt things deeply like he I feel I'm sure he still does want to talk about a football player.

It meant a lot to him, and I know it tears him up that he didn't win a Super Bowl.

But you know, the feeling that he always had for his teammates, for his team, for for the effort he would put in to be great.

When you talk to Philip Rivers, you have to block out some time.

He's an effusive individual who has a lot to say on cares about the people around him.

And I think you know, he's a guy that will be missed by a lot of people in a lot of a lot of levels of football, Azaz a player as a player.

I understand all that effusive praise you have for him, for him being so generous and to the reporters but as a player, good riddance like Man was very was far, was far too good and also far too arrogant and he would talk trash in your face after he threw a touchdown.

So have a ton of respect for him and that's part of the respect that I have more is as a defender, not sad to see him go.

The man was an excellent football player and also ah hell of a trash talker so so very annoying with his dad gum it's and gosh, Dag, it's like just say what you want to say.

Say the word that you want to say Hey, didn't say the word We did a feature on him Way did a feature on him a couple years ago.

It's run a few times on our network about the trash talking quarterback who doesn't swear.

And what does he say instead?

And there's all this great footage of him, like, you know, cursing guys out without cursing, right where he's just getting in our faces and talking about.

So, yeah, he leaves.

He leaves that legacy as well as the all time trash talking quarterback.

I would say it's a stone cold lead pipe plop.

You're going to hear a lot of that today as we continue our coverage of this on ESPN.

And I think when we think back to when they lost that playoff game and we saw him get very emotional afterwards, that was the first time I got a sense.

He knows it's over.

He knows that was his last game.

He sort of had a feeling then, as he was crying tearing up after it that he knew he waited.

Ah, week or two.

And now here it is.

So again, Philip Rivers Hall of Fame career.

17 seasons.

He announces today that he is going to retire.

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