In a sport built on chaos, this week managed to feel downright surreal. The NFL is welcoming back a 44-year-old grandfather at quarterback, Notre Dame is publicly scorching its own conference, and two of football’s most volatile personalities — George Pickens and Richard Sherman — are trading barbs in a feud that’s half generational, half deeply personal.
Welcome to football in 2025. Buckle up.
The quarterback who came back (again): Philip Rivers returns
Sundays in Indianapolis have grown quieter in recent years — at least compared to the thunderous Andrew Luck days. But the Colts’ took a gut punch last week when quarterback Daniel Jones, already playing with a fracture in his leg, tore his Achilles in a loss to Jacksonville, suddenly shoving the 8-5 Colts into a crisis with the playoffs looming.
And so, in a move straight out of a sports drama, the Colts picked up the phone and called … a grandfather to take the hike under center.
Yes, Philip Rivers — a nine-time Pro Bowler, bolo-tie enthusiast, father of ten, and now, incredibly, a grandfather.
Rivers, who last threw an NFL pass during Indianapolis’ 2020 playoff run, worked out for the team Tuesday. Apparently, he looked sharp enough to convince the Colts to sign him to their practice squad, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Not bad for someone who was just named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame last month.
The Colts’ quarterback room now features a fascinating trio: rookie Riley Leonard, journeyman Brett Rypien, and the man who has been eligible for AARP mailers for several years.
For Rivers, football was supposed to be done. But as he’s proven repeatedly, sometimes the game just isn’t done with you.
Notre Dame’s fury: A blueblood scorned
While the NFL was summoning grandfathers into battle, college football was busy lighting a diplomatic wildfire.
When the 12-team College Football Playoff field was announced Sunday, Notre Dame found itself on the outside looking in — and athletic director Pete Bevacqua wasted no time pointing fingers. His target? Not the selection committee. Not rival programs. But … the ACC, the very conference that houses nearly every other Notre Dame sport except football.
On “The Dan Patrick Show,” Bevacqua was blunt, irritated, and unmistakably wounded. The ACC, he argued, pushed Miami over Notre Dame in the crucial days before the final rankings — and in doing so, “did permanent damage” to the relationship.
“We were mystified,” Bevacqua said, incredulous that the conference would “attack their biggest partner in football.”
It’s rare to see Notre Dame, a program built on independence and prestige, air its grievances so publicly. But in an era where conference politics are as cutthroat as recruiting battles, the message was unmistakable:
If the ACC wanted smoke, it just got a bonfire.
Pickens vs. Sherman: A feud for the digital age
Meanwhile, on the NFL’s spiciest front, Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens is in the eye of a storm—one he helped create.
Pickens had his worst outing of the season in a 44–30 loss to Detroit, catching five passes for just 37 yards and showing what former All-Pro Richard Sherman called a disturbing lack of effort.
On his podcast, Sherman didn’t hold back.
“George Pickens … looked uninterested. Uninterested in playing football,” Sherman said, escalating from critique to full-on challenge. “If you want $40 million receiver money, you can’t half-a-s it.”
Pickens fired back on Instagram with an NSFW blast that targeted Sherman’s résumé, his reputation, and, naturally, the one wound Sherman will never escape: the end of the Legion of Boom era.
In his now-deleted rant, according to ESPN and Yahoo! Sports, Pickens wrote, in part:
“Lots of shh has to go right for Explosive Plays, and it’s funny cause I thought former players would know that such as … ” Pickens barked to his 642,000 Instagram followers.
” … RICHARD p—y a– SHERMAN WHO BTW AINT SHH WITHOUT THE LEGION OF BOOM WE ALL REMEMBER SAN FRANCISCO BROTHER..”
Even by NFL social-media standards, it was … vivid.
Pickens is one of the league’s rising stars — electrifying, volatile, unfiltered. But from a verbal standpoint, Sherman is Pickens’s equal as one of its loudest and most respected critics.
Their feud? It’s a generational clash, a culture clash, and frankly, fabulous entertainment. Sherman responded to Pickens’ scorching attack on him and chose to take the high road.
