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Marco Anthony Rivera (born April 26, 1972) 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 ...
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers and
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
. He played college football at Penn State University.


Early years

Rivera attended Elmont Memorial High School, where he played at
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
, defensive end and linebacker. As a senior, he received All-New York, All-county and honorable-mention All-American honors. He helped his team win 3 conference titles, while making almost 300 tackles, 16 sacks and 6 interceptions. He also received All-conference honors in
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
.


College career

Rivera accepted a football scholarship from Penn State University from 1992 to 1995. As a freshman he was a backup at
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
. As a sophomore, he became a starter at right tackle, but was lost for the season with a shoulder injury he suffered in the ninth game against the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universi ...
. As a junior, he was moved to
right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...
, contributing to the team leading the nation in scoring (47.8 points-per-game) and total offense (520.2 yards-per-game). He played in 41 career games (31 starts), including three bowl games – the Outback, Rose and Blockbuster. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice from Penn State in 1995.


Professional career


Green Bay Packers

Rivera was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round (208th overall) of the
1996 NFL Draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...
. During his first year, he was inactive for all 16 regular season games. He was a key practice contributor to the Packers run to their twelfth title in Super Bowl XXXI. In 1997, Rivera was allocated to the
Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, E ...
of the World League and started all ten games, helping his team finish third in the league in total offense. He was named honorable-mention All-World League by ''
Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...
''. Rivera returned to Green Bay and saw action in 14 regular season games, primarily on special teams as a member of the field goal and extra point units and on kickoffs. He was inactive for the Packers first two contests before seeing action in the club's final 14 games as well as all three playoff contests. In 1998, Rivera started 15 of 16 regular season games at the left guard spot after winning the job in training camp over another ex-Claymore,
Joe Andruzzi Joseph Dominick Andruzzi (born August 23, 1975) is a former American football offensive guard. College career Andruzzi played college football at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he majored in special educat ...
. He also started the Packers NFC Wild Card playoff game at San Francisco. In 1999, Rivera started all 16 games for the first time in his career, playing the entire season at right guard after successfully making the transition from the left side where he had started the year before. In 2000 and 2001, Rivera started 32 consecutive games at right guard for the three straight seasons. In 2002, Rivera raised his game to a higher level in his fifth season as a starter with a performance that earned him his first career
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
selection. He started every game of the season – despite playing with torn
medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist outwar ...
s in both knees. In 2003, Rivera battled through a knee injury that he suffered late in the preseason and went on to start all 16 games (and two playoff games) for the fifth straight year. He was named as a starter on the NFC
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
squad after serving as a backup for his initial appearance in the NFL's annual all-star game in 2002. He was also a second-team All-Pro selection of the Associated Press and Football Digest as well as being named to the All-NFC team as selected by Pro Football Weekly. In 2004, Rivera was the anchor on the Green Bay offensive line, Rivera completed his seventh straight season as a starting guard. In starting all 16 regular season games, plus the playoff contest against Minnesota, Rivera earned the starting guard spot on the NFC
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
squad for a second straight season and also was named to the All-NFC squad by Pro Football Weekly. Rivera was named to the 2011 class of the
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...
.


Dallas Cowboys

On March 3, 2005, the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
acquired Rivera in
free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
, after he was coming off his third consecutive
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
nomination and had a streak of 106 consecutive games played. He signed a five-year, $20 million contract with a signing bonus of $9 million (tying the largest ever given to a guard). He injured his back during an offseason workout while running on a treadmill and underwent microdiscectomy surgery to repair a
herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physica ...
. He recovered in time for
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
and the regular season, but suffered a sprained neck injury against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
in week 15 and would miss the final two games. He also underwent offseason surgery in his two elbows. In 2006, he started 16 games at
right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...
, but injured his back in the wildcard playoff loss against the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West, which they rejoined ...
and underwent his second back surgery in two years to repair a
herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physica ...
. On June 7, 2007, Rivera was released due to serious back problems and eventually retired. The Cowboys signed free agent Leonard Davis to replace him. Rivera played in 155 games starting a total of 141, while registering 12 tackles and 3 fumble recoveries as an offensive lineman. He received three
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
selections.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans


Personal life

Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent. He spent time as a volunteer coach with the Miami Dolphins, under two of his previous coaches from the Cowboys and Packers ( Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Marco 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York (state) American football offensive guards Penn State Nittany Lions football players Green Bay Packers players Scottish Claymores players Dallas Cowboys players National Conference Pro Bowl players Puerto Rican players of American football Ed Block Courage Award recipients