Philip Rivers would listen if Saints reached out about joining team

Former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers said on Tuesday that he hasn’t heard from the New Orleans Saints but would listen if they reached out, per Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

This is now the second time that we’ve heard Rivers speak about the Saints, who lost starting quarterback Jameis Winston to a torn ACL in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rivers was asked about the speculation on WNSP-FM in Alabama and said that he’s going to stay ready, but there’s nothing to it.

“I saw a lot of those things yesterday,” Rivers said (h/t Mark Heim). “It was interesting to see. Like I told you guys six or eight weeks ago, I’m going to stay somewhat ready in case the perfect storm hits. There’s nothing to it (the Saints talk). It was fun to see yesterday.”

Rivers played for the Indianapolis Colts last season, where he led them to a postseason berth. The 39-year-old QB completed 68% of his passes for 4,169 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He retired following the season and has been coaching high school football this year.

With all that in mind, would Rivers be that much more of an upgrade over Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian? Well, Saints head coach Sean Payton believes that he can win games with either guy under center.

“We’re satisfied with our quarterback room,” Payton said on Monday when asked if the Saints are looking to add another quarterback.

Hill made four starts last season for the Saints when Drew Brees went down with an injury. The 31-year-old quarterback/wideout completed 71.9% of his passes for 834 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions, and added 209 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.

As for Siemian, he did an admirable job last week against the Buccaneers in relief of the injured Winston. The 29-year-old completed 16-of-29 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. The Saints have not made a decision on who will start at quarterback on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.