Report: New Colts QB Philip Rivers is a Driving Force Behind Organizing Imminent Player-Only Practices

According to head coach Frank Reich on Monday, new Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers has successfully moved to Indianapolis—along with his family and nine children, and he’s ‘already calling guys to throw’.

Rivers has reportedly been a driving force in organizing imminent player-only practices with officially organized physical team workouts still essentially on lockdown until training camp starts in late July.

Per The Athletic’s Stephen Holder (subscription):

“Rivers, who joined the Colts as a free agent in March, is taking a lead role in organizing player-only practices in the Indianapolis area next week, multiple sources told The Athletic Indiana,” Holder writes. “Meanwhile, cornerback Kenny Moore is among those making arrangements to get defensive players on board.”

“The workouts, to be held at a local venue – not at the Colts’ training facility – will likely feature a 7-on-7 format involving offensive and defensive players. It will be a welcome change for players largely unable to conduct organized workouts while quarantined in recent months because of COVID-19.”

“A full list of players expected to participate remains unclear, but sources said attendance is expected to be quite healthy.”

For those viewing at home, I recommend subscribing to The Athletic and reading Holder’s article itself (and overall content)—as their Colts writers do great work as a whole.

While Rivers is already familiar with Reich’s offensive system—having spent time together in San Diego with one another, the freshly signed Colts quarterback hasn’t been able to physically practice with his new teammates live yet—at least not formally.

Rather, the Colts’ organized team workouts have so far been limited to purely a ‘virtual offseason’—which has posed recent challenges, especially for a veteran quarterback looking to build rapport with his new receivers, running backs, and offensive line.

Among those wide receivers is Colts’ rookie 2nd round pick, Michael Pittman Jr., who could really benefit from building initial chemistry with Rivers—particularly if he’s looking to make an immediate impact during his debut campaign.

Other veterans such as T.Y. Hilton could theoretically handle some unfamiliarity with Rivers better because they have a greater understanding of the NFL ropes and the Colts offense—and have already caught from multiple NFL quarterbacks before.

That being said, each Colts receiver would assuredly benefit from building an initial on-field relationship with Rivers and working on things like timing, anticipation, playing styles, and overall route-running.

The fact that the veteran field general is already assuming a leadership role with the Colts—despite some unprecedented obstacles to hurdle, is a very encouraging sign this offseason for Indianapolis—all things considered.

Promoting cohesion, it could make for a much more well-oiled passing attack and offense once the Colts regular season kicks off in mid-September.