Derek Rivers (born May 9, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Youngstown State. He has been a member of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Early life

Born in

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...

, Rivers and his family moved to North Carolina when he was five months old. Rivers later attended Kinston High School in Kinston. After high school, he attended Fork Union Military Academy for a year.

College career

Rivers played at Youngstown State from 2013 to 2016. During his career he had a school record 41 career sacks, including 14 as a senior. He accumulated 56.5 tackles for loss, 47 quarterback hurries and 119 solo

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

in his college career at Youngstown State. As a senior, Rivers led one of the top statistically rated defenses in the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

(FCS) to the National Championship where they would lose to

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

24–14. Rivers was a three time 1st Team All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

performer as well as a two time FCS

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Rivers finished his career #5 all-time in FCS history in career sacks.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Rivers was selected by the

in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. During

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 ...

, he suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the season. He was officially placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on September 2, 2017. Rivers made his NFL debut in Week 3 of the season, against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. In Week 17, he recorded his first career sack when he took down rookie quarterback

Sam Darnold Sam Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans football, USC Trojans, winn ...

in a win against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He played in his first career postseason game on January 13, 2019, in a win against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. Rivers helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LIII, although he was inactive for it. The team defeated the

13–3. He played in 6 regular-season games that season, recording 2 solo tackles and 1 sack. Rivers suffered a knee injury in Week 2 of the 2019 preseason, and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2019. Rivers made the 53-man roster coming out of 's shortened preseason. He was active in Week 1, against the

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

, where he recorded his first sack since 2018 on quarterback

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the Patriots on October 17, 2020, but was activated on October 21. On November 21, Rivers was released by the Patriots to make room on the roster. As a Patriot, he played in 14 regular-season games through nearly 4 seasons (being injured for 2 of those seasons), making six tackles with 2.5 sacks. Rivers also played in one postseason game.

Los Angeles Rams

On November 23, 2020, Rivers was claimed off waivers by the

. As a Ram, he played in 2 regular-season games, as well as both postseason games, their postseason being cut short with a loss of 32–18 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Houston Texans

On March 23, 2021, Rivers signed with the

. On August 31, he was released, but re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 1. He was promoted to the active roster on November 24. On December 9, the Texans signed Rivers to a two-year, $1 million deal. The last game he played in for that season was on December 19 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, where he recorded his first sack since Week 1 of 2020 on quarterback

Trevor Lawrence William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospect ...

. This was his only sack of the season, having played in only 5 consecutive games that season, beginning on November 21. On August 30, 2022, Rivers was placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps tendon. He was out for the entire season. Rivers re-signed with the Texans on March 16, 2023. On August 30, he was both released from the active roster and signed to the practice squad. In a flurry of moves over the course of three weeks, Rivers was shifted between being promoted to the active roster, being released, and being re-signed to the practice squad, starting with his promotion to the active roster on September 21 and ending as a member of the practice squad on October 7. He was released on November 1.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 7, 2023, the

signed Rivers to their practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract. He was re-signed on August 14, 2024. Rivers was released on August 25. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 24. Rivers was released on November 12 and re-signed to the practice squad one week later. He was released on November 25.

References

External links

Youngstown State Penguins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Derek Living people 1994 births Sportspeople from Kinston, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football defensive ends American football linebackers Fork Union Military Academy alumni Youngstown State Penguins football players New England Patriots players Los Angeles Rams players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Colts players