Philip Rivers is retiring from the NFL

[Bolt]

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Philip Rivers has decided to call it a career.

Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said last week that he expected to meet with Rivers in a month to discuss the quarterback’s plans for the future. That meeting won’t be necessary because Rivers told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he is retiring from the NFL after 17 seasons.

Rivers said that he’d considered retirement in recent years, but that “this is the first year I felt like the ending was real.”

“It’s just time,” Rivers said. “It’s just right. . . . I can sit here and say, ‘I can still throw it. I love to play.’ But that’s always going to be there. I’m excited to go coach high school football.”

Rivers ends his career with 63,440 passing yards and 421 passing touchdowns. He’s fifth in NFL history in both categories and ranks high in several other metrics. He was never able to make it to a Super Bowl with the Chargers or Colts, which is the biggest missing piece of an otherwise standout career that came to an end on Wednesday.