Colts can 'absolutely' go to Super Bowl with Rivers, says GM

General manager Chris Ballard believes Philip Rivers is capable of leading the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl if the quarterback returns in 2021.

"Absolutely I do," Ballard told reporters Thursday at his season-ending news conference.

Rivers, 39, is contemplating retirement. He and the Colts will meet in approximately one month to determine their future together. Rivers is set to become a free agent again after playing out the one-year, $25-million contract he signed last offseason.

"Do we want Philip back? Yes," Ballard said.

If Rivers doesn't return, the Colts will have a massive decision to make about the direction of their quarterback room. Indianapolis likely finished with too poor a draft pick to nab one of the top prospects, and Ballard noted that selecting one early wouldn't necessarily solve the problem anyway.

"We get the importance of a quarterback, but the difference between just taking one and taking the right one is the key in our minds," he said.

Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett is also a pending free agent. Jacob Eason, a fourth-round pick in 2020, is the only Colts signal-caller under contract in 2021.

"We'll figure it out. That's our jobs," Ballard said. "I feel very confident in (head coach) Frank (Reich) and (offensive coordinator) Nick (Sirianni) and (quarterbacks coach) Marcus Brady; we'll task them with some work to do here pretty soon, and we'll move forward."

Rivers threw for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his debut season in Indianapolis after a storied 16-year career with the Los Angeles Chargers.