 Marco Rivera at the380th Air Expeditionary Wing in 2011 | |||||||||
| No. 63, 62 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1972-04-26)April 26, 1972 (age 52) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 309 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Elmont Memorial(Elmont, New York) | ||||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1996: 6th round, 208th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Marco Anthony Rivera (born April 26, 1972) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard in theNational Football League (NFL) for theGreen Bay Packers andDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football for thePenn State Nittany Lions.
Rivera attendedElmont Memorial High School, where he played atguard,defensive end andlinebacker. As a senior, he received All-New York, All-county and honorable-mentionAll-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 inbasketball andlacrosse.
Rivera accepted a football scholarship fromPenn State University from 1992 to 1995. As a freshman he was a backup atguard. As a sophomore, he became a starter atright tackle, but was lost for the season with a shoulder injury he suffered in the ninth game against theUniversity of Illinois.[1]
As a junior, he was moved toright guard, contributing to the team leading the nation in scoring (47.8 points-per-game) and total offense (520.2 yards-per-game).[2]
He played in 41 career games (31 starts), including three bowl games – theOutback,Rose andBlockbuster. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He earned hisBachelor of Science in Administration of Justice fromPenn State in 1995.
Rivera was selected by theGreen Bay Packers in the sixth round (208th overall) of the1996 NFL draft.[3] 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.[citation needed]
In 1997, Rivera was allocated to theScottish Claymores of theWorld 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 byPro Football Weekly. 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. He also started the Packers NFC Wild Card playoff game atSan 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 careerPro Bowl selection. He started every game of the season – despite playing with tornmedial collateral ligaments in both knees.[4]
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 NFCPro Bowl 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 NFCPro Bowl 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 theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[5][6]
On March 3, 2005, theDallas Cowboys acquired Rivera infree agency, after he was coming off his third consecutivePro Bowl 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 underwentmicrodiscectomy surgery to repair aherniated disc.[7] He recovered in time fortraining camp and the regular season, but suffered a sprained neck injury against theWashington Redskins 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 atright guard, but injured his back in the wildcard playoff loss against theSeattle Seahawks and underwent his second back surgery in two years to repair aherniated disc.[8] On June 7, 2007, Rivera was released due to serious back problems and eventually retired. The Cowboys signedfree agentLeonard Davis to replace him.[9]
Rivera played in 155 games starting a total of 141, while registering 12 tackles and 3 fumble recoveries as an offensive lineman. He received threePro Bowl selections.
Rivera is ofPuerto Rican descent. He spent time as a volunteer coach with theMiami Dolphins, under two of his previous coaches from the Cowboys and Packers (Tony Sparano,Joe Philbin).[10]
