Philip Rivers is not expected to start again; his brief 2025 comeback with the Indianapolis Colts has effectively ended, and reports indicate he will not play in the 2026 season.

Current status

  • Rivers, 44, came out of retirement late in the 2025 season to help the Colts after multiple QB injuries and started three games.
  • Following those appearances, the Colts turned the Week 18 start over to rookie Riley Leonard, with Seth Henigan as backup, leaving Rivers third on the depth chart.
  • Reporting now indicates Rivers does not plan to pursue a roster spot or another comeback in 2026, returning instead to his coaching life.

Will he start again?

  • For the Colts’ season finale, he is explicitly not the starter and not even the primary backup, so he will not start that game.
  • League-wide, there is no indication any team is considering him as a 2026 starter; coverage frames his brief return as “one last time,” suggesting his starting days are over.

Context for the question

  • The question “will Philip Rivers start” trended around the time the Colts were deciding between Rivers and Leonard late in the 2025 season, especially before games against the Seahawks and in Week 17.
  • Those decisions are now resolved: he did get a couple of late-season starts, but going forward the Colts are moving on with younger quarterbacks and Rivers is stepping away again from active play.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.