San Diego Chargers: Keeping Philip Rivers is right move

Much of the talk leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft was were the San Diego Chargers going to trade Philip Rivers.

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The draft has come and gone, and the Chargers still have Rivers as their quarterback. Much of the talk leading up to the NFL draft surrounding the Chargers and Rivers involved Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

As the draft neared, it became obvious the Mariota was going to be the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. Mariota has a lot of good attributes to his game, and the Chargers were certainly interested in him.

The thing that the Chargers have that is much different than the other teams interested in Mariota, is a proven quarterback. While Mariota could be a great quarterback one day, the Chargers already have one on the team. As shown by other teams in the NFL, finding a franchise quarterback is a very hard thing to do.

The Chargers could be looking to the future with their interest in Mariota, as Rivers is 33-years-old. Even though Rivers isn’t a spring chicken, he still has a lot of good football left in the tank. Moving on from Rivers for Mariota would have been a crazy move by the Chargers. Mariota is nowhere near a lock of a quarterback prospect like Andrew Luck was. For the Chargers to give up on Rivers for an unproven product would have been crazy.

Rivers has been in the NFL for 11 seasons, as he was part of the draft day deal that sent Eli Manning to the New York Giants. In his first two seasons in San Diego, Rivers sat behind Drew Brees before it was his time to be the starter.

In his career, Rivers has accumulated some great stats, as he has totaled 36,655 passing yards, 252 passing touchdowns, and a 64.7 completion percentage.

Most importantly about Rivers in his nine seasons as a starter is that the Chargers have only had a losing record once. Throughout the last decade, the Chargers have always been a competitive team, and that is a rare thing in the ever-changing NFL. In his nine seasons as a starter, Rivers has helped lead the Chargers to the playoffs five times.

Dec 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws a pass during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 19-7. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In the playoffs, Rivers has had some disappointments along with the Chargers. In a few seasons, the Chargers have had championship aspirations, but fell short. In nine playoff games, Rivers has a losing record at 4-5. His furthest trip in the playoffs came in 2007, as the Chargers made it to the AFC Championship Game.

While Rivers’ stats are great in the regular season, in the playoffs there is a considerable drop. In the playoffs, Rivers has totaled 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 60.3 completion percentage.

In recent years, the talent around Rivers has been lacking. Some of Rivers’ best seasons came when he has had Darren Sproles and LaDainian Tomlinson. In the first-round of the NFL Draft, instead of making some crazy trade for Mariota, the Chargers added talent to help their franchise quarterback.

Drafting running back Melvin Gordon will help Rivers immensely in 2015, as he had a magnificent career at Wisconsin.

Whether the Chargers were extremely serious about Mariota or not, the decision to stick with Rivers was the right one to make, as great quarterbacks are hard to find.

Next: How did the Chargers do in the 2015 NFL Draft?

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