San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a challenging position due to injuries to their quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson during the NFC Championship Game. Earlier in the season, quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo also suffered injuries.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that had the team advanced to the Super Bowl, they would have signed retired Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers is a former long-time quarterback for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts. Over his career, he was selected for the Pro Bowl eight times and is the sixth-leading passer in NFL history.
Though Rivers retired after his final NFL season in 2020 and would have been 41 years old for Super Bowl LVII, Shanahan expressed confidence in his readiness to play.
The coach stated, “He was prepared to. Now that’s stuff we talked about throughout the whole year. We would’ve had to see how that was for the Super Bowl, but that was the plan most of the year.”
Post-retirement, Rivers took up a job as a football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama. Looking ahead, the 49ers plan to move forward in 2023 with Purdy at quarterback, supported by Lance and Sam Darnold.