INDIANAPOLIS -- With NFL free agency right around the corner, the rumor mill is churning.

Because the Indianapolis Colts might be in the quarterback market, Philip Rivers could be a potential target.

What will happen is anybody’s guess. What is known is the Colts have done their research on Rivers. Like every other team in the NFL, Indianapolis is doing its due diligence when it comes to potential free-agent targets.

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Signing the 38-year-old Rivers would go against Colts general manager Chris Ballard's free-agent philosophy. He isn’t against signing free agents, but he prefers to sign younger players in the prime of their career.

Rivers is no longer in his prime. He threw for 4,615 yards and 23 touchdowns last season with the Los Angeles Chargers. But the alarming stat was his 20 interceptions, third most in the NFL. The Chargers announced earlier in the offseason they wouldn't re-sign Rivers after 16 seasons.

But nothing, including quarterback Jacoby Brissett keeping his starting job, can be ruled out with the Colts, especially when it comes to owner Jim Irsay. The Colts have missed the playoffs four times in the past five seasons after making the playoffs in 12 of the 14 prior. Rivers, or any other veteran quarterback the Colts pursue, could be a bridge until they find a franchise player at that position.

Irsay recently said "all options are open" at quarterback and would only go so far as to say Brissett is the starter "right now." The Colts are doing the right thing by not backing themselves in a corner.

Frank Reich was an assistant coach with the Chargers, working with quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers threw for at least 4,286 yards and 29 touchdowns in all three seasons they were together in San Diego. Orlando Ramirez/ Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s easy to understand why Rivers has been connected to the Colts. Coach Frank Reich spent three seasons with the Chargers. He was Rivers’ quarterbacks coach for a season, then his offensive coordinator for two seasons. Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni spent five seasons with the Chargers, including two as their quarterbacks coach.

The question with Rivers -- if he decides to continue playing -- is: What does he have that would be an upgrade over Brissett?

A league source pointed out Rivers can’t “fling” the ball down the field the way he did earlier in his career. His 7.81 yards per attempt ranked 11th and his completion percentage (66) was 10th. All those numbers were better than Brissett's last season. Brissett finished 30th in the league in yards per attempt at 6.58.

Rivers, never the most athletic quarterback, would have an opportunity to play behind one of the league’s best offensive lines with Indianapolis. The Colts were the only team in the league to start the same group all 16 games last season. With a commitment to running the ball, the Colts finished seventh in the league in rushing last season. That means Rivers wouldn’t have to stand in the pocket and average nearly 37 pass attempts a game, as he did last season.

Rivers Reunion? The statistics of Philip Rivers when Colts head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni were on the staff with the Chargers. Overall Years Yds./G Yds./Att Comp.% W-L With Reich 2013-15 282.4 7.6 67.3 22-26 With Sirianni 2013-17 280.7 7.7 65.0 36-44 Overall 2004-19 260.0 7.8 64.7 123-101 ESPN

The league source pointed out one of the biggest selling points for Rivers is he knows Reich’s offense like the “back of his hand,” which should make for a smoother transition to Indianapolis. Rivers threw for at least 4,200 yards in the three seasons Reich was either his quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator.

Rivers is one of many quarterbacks whom Ballard and the Colts are studying for free agency, trades and the draft.

“We like Jacoby Brissett. Love what he stands for,” Ballard said. “It was almost a tale of two seasons [in 2019] where we’re 5-2, he’s playing good football. He had the injury and we had injuries as a team and we kind of slid down. We did the short-term deal to see what we had. To say we’re going to create competition, we’re going to create competition at any spot. That’s going to be a year-to-year thing. Even when Andrew [Luck] was our quarterback, we still studied the quarterback position. I think it’s important enough that it’s a unique position. We know how hard they are to find and you have to go in depth each and every year for that spot.”