Mike Rivera (born January 10, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played college football at

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

After going undrafted in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

, Rivera signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2009. He was cut on September 5, 2009.

Tennessee Titans

On September 7, 2009, the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

signed Rivera to their practice squad. He was signed to a future contract with the Titans after the 2009 season on January 4, 2010. He was waived on August 31, 2010.

Green Bay Packers

Rivera was signed to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

' practice squad on October 13, 2010.

Miami Dolphins

The

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

signed Rivera off the Packers' practice squad on December 28, 2010. Rivera was released by the Dolphins in August 2011.

New England Patriots

The

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

signed Rivera to the practice squad on November 9, 2011. Rivera signed a future contract with the Patriots on February 8, 2012.

Second Stint with Dolphins

The Dolphins signed Rivera on September 25, 2012. He was waived on October 2, 2012.

Second Stint with Patriots

The Patriots signed Rivera on October 31, 2012. He was waived on August 30, 2013.

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Mike 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football linebackers Kansas Jayhawks football players Chicago Bears players Tennessee Titans players Miami Dolphins players New England Patriots players Green Bay Packers players