Philip Rivers relocated his wife and nine kids to Indiana because he wanted to keep playing football, specifically for the Colts.
So the idea of opting out was never something he considered.
“No, there really wasn’t. No,” Rivers said, via Mike Chappell of Fox59.com. “That’s the shortest answer I can give on my whole day. I don’t even know if I can ramble on that one. There wasn’t any consideration.
“Making that decision [to opt out] for me would have been making the decision to be done, period. Retiring. Which is nowhere on my mind.”
The 38-year-old Rivers said the health of his family was his priority, but he felt good about his decision. But he said he understood why other players would.
“Did I ever consider it? No,” he said. “Do I think someone that does consider it or does opt, do I think they’re crazy? No. I think it’s really up to each person and their family to do what’s best for them.
“The finality of it is the big thing. You never know when you make a decision like that. In a couple of weeks sometimes you go, ‘Oh man, I wish I wasn’t.’ It will be interesting if you hear from some guys, how they feel about it in a few weeks and some guys that maybe were thinking about it and didn’t if they wish they did two weeks down the road.”
Because for Rivers, the idea of not playing again was something he couldn’t imagine.