The Chargers are officially parting ways with Philip Rivers, whose passing records for the team will probably last quite a long time. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly interested (though they seem to be interested in virtually every quarterback not named Jameis Winston). Will Rivers be a good free agent catch?
If you look strictly at the more positive production elements -- yards, touchdowns, completion percentage -- the dropoff in Rivers' level of play doesn't seem significant. Seven years in a row he's thrown for 4,300-4,800 yards (4,615 last season), and he's thrown for 23-33 touchdowns 11 years in a row. Just 23 last year, though, which is his lowest total since his second year as a starter, way back in 2007.
But turnovers have been up, and that's probably what has forced the Chargers' hand in this matter. In two of the last four seasons, he's thrown 20-plus interceptions. Over the last five seasons, he's thrown 76. That's 2nd-most of any quarterback over that span. Only one quarterback has thrown more Pick Sixes in that timeframe, too.
| TOTAL INTERCEPTIONS, 2014-2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tm | G | Yds | TD | Int | Pick6 |
| Jameis Winston | TAM | 72 | 19,737 | 121 | 88 | 11 |
| Philip Rivers | LAC | 80 | 22,616 | 145 | 76 | 10 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | TMS | 59 | 13,613 | 87 | 60 | 5 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | 59 | 17,488 | 112 | 60 | 3 |
| Eli Manning | NYG | 67 | 17,268 | 107 | 59 | 4 |
| Blake Bortles | JAC | 64 | 14,741 | 92 | 58 | 9 |
| Matt Ryan | ATL | 79 | 23,020 | 140 | 56 | 6 |
| Cam Newton | CAR | 63 | 14,615 | 100 | 54 | 5 |
| Kirk Cousins | TMS | 79 | 21,077 | 137 | 52 | 8 |
| Andy Dalton | CIN | 69 | 16,836 | 105 | 52 | 5 |
| Joe Flacco | TMS | 59 | 14,536 | 70 | 51 | 3 |
| Derek Carr | RAI | 78 | 19,523 | 122 | 50 | 7 |
| Matthew Stafford | DET | 72 | 19,311 | 125 | 49 | 7 |
| Marcus Mariota | OTI | 63 | 13,207 | 76 | 44 | 6 |
| Drew Brees | NOR | 73 | 21,383 | 151 | 43 | 5 |
| Jared Goff | RAM | 54 | 14,219 | 87 | 42 | 3 |
| Russell Wilson | SEA | 80 | 19,784 | 155 | 42 | 4 |
| Andrew Luck | CLT | 38 | 10,714 | 85 | 40 | 3 |
| Case Keenum | TMS | 57 | 12,173 | 64 | 39 | 4 |
| Ryan Tannehill | TMS | 52 | 11,924 | 82 | 39 | 5 |
| Tom Brady | NWE | 76 | 21,313 | 149 | 36 | 4 |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | 64 | 15,778 | 97 | 36 | 4 |
| Baker Mayfield | CLE | 30 | 7,552 | 49 | 35 | 3 |
| Carson Wentz | PHI | 56 | 14,191 | 97 | 35 | 1 |
| Carson Palmer | TMS | 38 | 10,882 | 70 | 32 | 2 |
| Brock Osweiler | TMS | 36 | 7,259 | 36 | 31 | 0 |
| Jay Cutler | TMS | 34 | 7,384 | 44 | 30 | 5 |
| Mitchell Trubisky | CHI | 41 | 8,554 | 48 | 29 | 0 |
| Deshaun Watson | HOU | 38 | 9,716 | 71 | 29 | 2 |
| Sam Darnold | NYJ | 26 | 5,889 | 36 | 28 | 2 |
| Aaron Rodgers | GNB | 71 | 18,368 | 138 | 27 | 1 |
| Alex Smith | TMS | 56 | 13,210 | 71 | 25 | 3 |
Data compiled using the search tools at Pro Football Reference. The quarterback who's thrown more interceptions and Pick Sixes in that timeframe, Jameis Winston, is of course familiar to the team that's frequently being linked to Rivers. Why exactly the Bucs are interested in moving on from one turnover-prone veteran to another who's 13 years older is a question that only they can answer.
In fairness to Rivers, simply starting every game over the last five years is a factor in quarterbacks showing up on this list. Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Tom Brady are there, and no one would consider them turnover-prone. But they're also pretty well south of Rivers (Brady, who the Chargers may be hoping to sign as a replacement, has thrown fewer than half as many).
I don't necessarily think Rivers is totally washed up; maybe a late-career season like Carson Palmer had in Arizona or Brett Favre in Minnesota is possible. But Tampa Bay's potential interest in moving from Winston to Rivers strikes me as a little odd.
--Andy Richardson