It wasn’t that long ago when many people debated whether Philip Rivers was a Hall of Famer. In fact, you still probably will find many who say he isn’t one. But Michael Irvin does not think it’s a question.
“The Playmaker” conducted an interview with Rivers that aired on NFL Network’s pregame show Thursday prior to the Colts-Titans game. Towards the end of the interview, Irvin made it clear that he thinks Rivers is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“I’ll see you five years after you retire with your gold jacket on. I shall see you in that moment, buddy,” Irvin said to Rivers.
Players have to wait five years after they retired to be eligible for the Hall of Fame.
The big knock on Rivers is his lack of a Super Bowl. He hasn’t reached a Super Bowl, much less won one. He’s only reached the playoffs twice since 2009 and got eliminated in the divisional round both times.
But you can’t deny Rivers’ body of work.
He’s about to surpass Dan Marino for fifth all-time in passing yards. He’ll likely pass Marino for fifth all-time in passing touchdowns next season. He’s led the league in passing yards once, passing touchdowns once, completion percentage once, yards per attempt three times, and he’s made eight Pro Bowls. The Iron Man also has played in all 16 games in every season during his career.
Rivers was among the best/better quarterbacks in the league for about 15 years. All combined, he’s definitely a Hall of Famer. Though don’t expect to see this play on his Hall of Fame highlight reel.
