Philip Rivers’ performance has Steve Young reconsidering his career

Philip Rivers’ performance on the football field at age 44 for the Indianapolis Colts has at least one NFL legend feeling like he could get back out there and sling the pill.

Steve Young said in an interview on Monday before the San Francisco 49ers took on the Colts that, at age 64, he believed he could still do something in the NFL and succeed. Young first joked earlier this month that he was “offended” the Colts didn’t call him for a shot.

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Steve Young attends the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 7, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

But in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Young seemed sure he could go out and do the small things for an NFL team.

“I absolutely feel confident that I could take the snap, run the screen game, throw the ball in the flat, maybe throw a slant,” he told the paper. “… It’s not like, ‘Put on the pads and go play.’ Still, if it was ‘Hunger Games’? If they said, you had to do this or die? Yeah, you could pull off something.

PHILIP RIVERS DELIVERS VINTAGE FIRST HALF PERFORMANCE FOR COLTS, DELIGHTING NFL FANS

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young (8) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium on Nov. 14, 1993. (Manny Rubio/USA TODAY Sports)

“It allows all of us to kind of say even more, ‘Could I go out there for five plays? Could I go out there and run the screen game?’ Because you got to remember, all of us, we were the best in the world at something. And then we were out, and we’re not the best at anything else. So you kind of want to keep doing what you were best in the world at.”

It’s not as if Rivers is cocking his arm back and throwing the ball down the field. Rivers’ passes appear to be more hook-shot style than anything else – and that was evident in the team’s loss to the 49ers later that night.

If Young ever took the field again, it would be nothing short of remarkable. The Hall of Famer finished his career with three Super Bowl titles, seven Pro Bowls and three First Team All-Pro nods. He last took a snap for the 49ers in 1999.

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The oldest player to ever appear in an NFL game was George Blanda. He played 14 games for the Oakland Raiders in 1975 – it was his age 48 season.

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