NFL legend, inspired by Philip Rivers, believes he could play again at 64

Philip Rivers’ performance on the football field at age 44 for the Indianapolis Colts has at least one NFL legend feeling like he could go back out and take the pill.

Steve Young said in an interview Monday before the San Francisco 49ers faced the Colts that, at 64, he believed he could still do something in the NFL and be successful. Young first joked earlier this month that he was “offended” the Colts didn’t call him up for an opportunity.

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Steve Young attends the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on January 7, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

But in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Young seemed confident he could go out and do little things for an NFL team.

“I’m absolutely confident I can take the snap, run the screen game, throw the ball in the flat, maybe throw a slant,” he told the newspaper. “…It’s not like, ‘Put on your pads and go play.’ Still, if this were ‘The Hunger Games’? If they said, ‘You had to do this or die?’ Yeah, you could accomplish something.

PHILIP RIVERS DELIVERS A VINTAGE FIRST HALF PERFORMANCE FOR THE COLTS, DELIGHTING NFL FANS

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young (8) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium on November 14, 1993. (Manny Rubio/USA TODAY Sports)

“It allows us all to even more say, ‘Could I go out and play five plays? Could I go out and run the screen game?’ Because you have to remember that all of us were the best in the world at something. And then we get eliminated and we’re not the best at anything else. “So you want to keep doing what you were best in the world.”

It’s not like Rivers is reaching back and throwing the ball downfield. Rivers’ passing seems to be more of a hook style than anything else, and that was evident in the team’s loss to the 49ers that same night.

If Young ever took the field again, it would be nothing short of extraordinary. The Hall of Famer finished his career with three Super Bowl titles, seven Pro Bowls and three First Team All-Pro nods. The last time he played a snap with the 49ers was in 1999.

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The oldest player to appear in an NFL game was George Blanda. He played 14 games for the Oakland Raiders in 1975; It was the season he was 48 years old.

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