Philip Rivers has been with the Los Angeles Chargers organization since 2004, and he’s been their starter under center since 2006. However, it’s possible that Los Angeles could draft his successor in just a few weeks.
The Chargers have the seventh pick in this year’s draft. It’s probable that both Clemson product DeShaun Watson and former UNC Tar Heel Mitch Trubisky will be available. Rivers is going into his age-36 season and led the league with 21 interceptions last season, so the dots are not hard to connect.
“I certainly don’t fear that day when [the Chargers draft a replacement] whatsoever,” said Rivers when asked, via Chargers.com. “I don’t take it as my role though [that] we drafted a young guy who’s your eventual replacement so get him ready. But at the same time, I enjoy sharing both things I’ve learned and letting the young guy see how I’ve done things. At the same time, I’m always going to compete. I think Kellen [Clemens] would tell you the same thing. He and I compete like crazy in everything. We’re competing with formations and shifts in the QB meeting in day one install like we’ve been doing for a lot of years. So, that’s something all of us have to [do]. Compete and never feel comfortable. Should this be the year there’s a young guy in here, who will come in here and be in what I would believe would be a pretty good situation.”
This is a PR-friendly answer. When push comes to shove, attitudes tend to change, so take it with a grain of salt.
However, it’s tough to see Rivers going out of Los Angeles kicking and screaming. He had a chance to do that two years ago when rumors linked him to the Tennessee Titans in a potential trade for the pick that became Marcus Mariota. He seems to have come around on playing in the city of Los Angeles and will most likely play out the end of his career as a Charger, regardless of whether they draft a quarterback this season.