 Rivers with theUSC Trojans in 2007 | |||||||||||||
| No. 55, 56 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1986-05-05)May 5, 1986 (age 39) San Bernardino, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Lake Mary (FL) | ||||||||||||
| College | USC (2004–2007) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2008: 1st round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Keith Rivers (born May 5, 1986) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected by theCincinnati Bengals ninth overall in the2008 NFL draft and also played for theNew York Giants andBuffalo Bills. He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans. After leaving football, he developed an interest in art and collection of works by contemporary artists.[1]
Rivers was a decoratedletterman infootball atLake Mary High School inLake Mary, Florida. His awards includeUSA Today All-USA first team,Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American,EA Sports All-American, Insiders.com All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 10, Super Prep All-Dixie, Prep Star All-Southeast,Fox Sports Net All-South,Gatorade Florida Player of the Year and FloridaClass 6A Mr. Football runner-up as a senior linebacker.[2] He played in the 2004U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Rivers was heavily recruited. Then-University of Florida coachRon Zook, noted for his recruiting ability, made a strong push, including talking to Rivers at 2 a.m. onNational Signing Day in 2003. In the end, Rivers selected USC; and, to cinch the pact, the Trojan coaching staff committed to bestowing Rivers, a worthy future player, with the famed USC linebacker jersey # 55 to wear during his Trojan career, which is selectively awarded and has traditionally been given to a promising linebacker with the potential of becoming a USC football and NFL great, and includes past Trojan and NFL star players, all members of the so-called USC linebacker "Club 55", such asJunior Seau,Willie McGinest andChris Claiborne.[3]
USC linebacker coachKen Norton Jr nicknamed Rivers "the Shark" for his aggressive play on the field, juxtaposed to his polite demeanor off of it.[4]
Rivers was on the watch list in 2006 for theBednarik Award,Lombardi Award,Bronko Nagurski Trophy, andLott Trophy. He was 2006Rivals.com and coaches first-team all-Pac-10. The All-American selection with 78 tackles, Rivers decided to stay for his senior season.[5]
Rivers was a 2007 preseasonSporting News, Street & Smith's, Lindy's,Phil Steele's, Blue Ribbon and NationalChamps.netAll-American. At the end of the 2007 regular season, Rivers was selected to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first-team for the second year in a row by league coaches.[6] He was also selected to theSI.comAll-American First-team.[7]
He graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy, Management, and Planning.[8]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 11 in (0.28 m) | 4.54 s | 1.56 s | 2.65 s | 4.38 s | 42.0 in (1.07 m) | 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) | 24 reps | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Rivers was selected by theCincinnati Bengals in the first round of the2008 NFL draft with the ninth overall pick.[11] Rivers signed a contract with the Bengals on August 5, ending the 10-day holdout.[12]
Keith Rivers began his rookie season with 10 tackles against theBaltimore Ravens. In the following game against theTennessee Titans, Rivers totaled 8 tackles. Against theNew York Giants, Rivers recorded two tackles, while against theCleveland Browns Rivers defensive production totaled 8 tackles. Rivers' rookie season was abruptly ended due to a shattered jaw suffered during a block byPittsburgh Steelers wide receiverHines Ward in Week 7, when Ward's helmet struck Rivers' chin. That action and the season-ending injury that resulted led to the NFL instituting the "Hines Ward Rule"[13] after the season, whereby it would henceforth be illegal for blockers to land a blindside block using their helmet, forearm or shoulder, to strike at the head or neck area of a defender.
Despite missing the final nine games, Rivers finished his rookie season with 37 tackles, one interception, and a forced fumble. Rivers received the only vote for 2008Defensive Rookie of the Year that didn't go to winnerJerod Mayo.[14]
On April 11, 2012, Rivers was traded to theNew York Giants for a 5th round draft pick in the2012 NFL draft.[15]
On March 12, 2014, Rivers signed a two-year, $5 million contract with theBuffalo Bills.[16] Rivers was released by the Bills on February 17, 2015.
Rivers signed with theDallas Cowboys on March 4, 2015.[17] Rivers retired from football on the first day of Cowboys training camp on July 31.[18]
| Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | |||
| 2008 | CIN | 7 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 39.0 | 39 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | CIN | 13 | 72 | 46 | 26 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | CIN | 15 | 77 | 51 | 26 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | CIN | 0 | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||||
| 2012 | NYG | 11 | 44 | 34 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | NYG | 16 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | BUF | 12 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[19] | 74 | 291 | 189 | 102 | 3.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 39 | 0 | 7 | |
After retiring from football, Rivers delved in to the art world, deepening an interest that was sparked in high school. He studied modern art and went to art shows. Starting with his first purchase of a piece by Andy Warhol, his collection has expanded to include works byBarbara Kruger andJohn Baldessari and more contemporary artists likeRashid Johnson andGlenn Ligon.[1] He served as a guest judge in the 2023 reality TV competition,The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist.[20]
