Mychal Rashawn Rivera (born September 8, 1990) is an American former 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 ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
. 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 ...
for the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...
and was selected by the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
in the sixth round of the
2013 NFL draft
The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
.
Early life
Rivera was born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, the son of George and Yolanda Rivera. He is of Puerto Rican,
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
descent. Though he lived in
Valencia, California
Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area, west of Interstate 5, is expanding with residential development and already includes major commercial and industrial parks. It stra ...
Lake Balboa
Lake Balboa is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. The area was previously part of Van Nuys.Rivals.com for the 2007 class.Mychal Rivera UTSports.com. Retrieved: April 28, 2013.
College career
Rivera initially signed with
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
for the 2008 season. After he was asked to move to offensive line by Ducks coach
Chip Kelly
Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as a college foo ...
he requested and received a release from his scholarship. For the 2009 season, he played for the
College of the Canyons
College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...
, a junior college in Santa Clarita, catching 32 passes for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In January 2010, Rivera committed to the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...
, having been drawn to the school by the emphasis on tight ends in the offensive scheme of newly hired head coach Derek Dooley. He played in all 13 games in the 2010 season, collecting 11 catches for 112 yards. Against Ole Miss, he caught a 26-yard pass on a 3rd-and-13 to keep a critical drive alive. His season-best was 3 catches for 29 yards against Memphis.
Rivera started all 12 games for the Volunteers in 2011. He caught 29 passes for 344 yards and a touchdown, placing third among SEC tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards. Against
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, he had 5 catches for 71 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception. He caught 5 passes for 85 yards against
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
.
Named to the Pre-Season All-SEC Third-team prior to the 2012 season, Rivera started in 10 of 12 games. He caught 36 passes for 562 yards and 5 touchdowns, breaking the single-season team record set by Jason Witten for most receiving yards by a tight end, and joining Reggie Harper as one of two Tennessee Volunteers tight ends with more than 1,000 career receiving yards. Rivera caught 4 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown against Florida. He caught 3 passes for 82 yards against Georgia, including a career-long 62-yard reception. Against
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, he caught 10 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Following the season, he was named All-SEC by both CBSSports and the SEC coaches, and All-SEC Second-team by the Associated Press.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
2013
The
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
selected Rivera in the sixth round (184th overall) of the
2013 NFL draft
The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
. Rivera was the 11th tight end drafted in 2013. He was the second tight end drafted by the Raiders in 2013, behind Nick Kasa who was selected in the sixth round (172nd overall).
He began his rookie season as the backup tight end behind Jeron Mastrud and caught two passes for 26-yards in a season opening loss to the
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 ...
. On September 29, 2013, against Washington, he caught his first career touchdown on an 18-yard pass from
Matt Flynn Matt or Matthew Flynn may refer to:
* Matt Flynn (American football) (born 1985), American football player
* Matt Flynn (Australian footballer) (born 1997), Australian rules footballer
* Matt Flynn (politician) (born 1947), American politician
* ...
. The following week, Rivera earned his first career start against the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
. On November 17, 2013, he caught a season-high five passes for 54 receiving yards and caught his second touchdown pass on a 26-yard pass from Matt McGloin. Rivera suffered a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Michael Griffin in the Raiders' loss to 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
on November 24, 2013. He finished his first season with 38 catches for 407 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns while starting 3 games and appearing in all 16 regular season contests.
2014
Rivera began his second season as the starting tight end but shared the role throughout the year with David Ausberry. In the season opener 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 caught three passes for 31 yards. After an 0–4 start, head coach Dennis Allen was fired and
Tony Sparano
Anthony Joseph Sparano III (October 7, 1961 – July 22, 2018) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have l ...
was named the interim head coach. On November 2, 2014, Rivera finished a loss to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
with a career-high 8 receptions for 38 receiving yards and caught his first two touchdown passes of the season from rookie quarterback Derek Carr. The following week against the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, he caught 6 passes for 64-yards and a touchdown during the Raider's 17–41 loss. On December 7, 2014, Rivera caught 7 passes for a career-high 109 receiving yards and a touchdown against the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
. He finished his second season with 58 catches, 534 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns in 10 starts and 16 regular season games. The Oakland Raiders finished 3–13 in 2014.
2015
After a career season in 2014, he was thought to be the starting tight end going into the 2015 season, but head coach Jack Del Rio brought in free agent Lee Smith and drafted Clive Walford in the third round of the
2015 NFL draft
The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...
. Although he began the season as the backup to Smith he eventually lost snaps to the emerging Walford. On November 15, 2015, he had one of his best games of the season when he caught a season-high six passes for 46 receiving yards during a 14–30 loss to the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
. During a Week 14 victory over the eventual Super Bowl 50 Champion
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, he caught 3 passes for a season-high 49 receiving yards as well as his only touchdown of the season. In his third professional season, Rivera was limited to only 32 catches for 280 receiving yards and one touchdown while appearing in all regular season games and starting none.
2016
With Walford slated as the starting tight end going into the 2016 season after emerging in the last month of the 2015 season, the Oakland Raiders reportedly were looking to trade Rivera. After not being able to seek a trade partner, the Raiders opted to keep him for at least the last year of his rookie contract.
With Walford slated as the starting tight end to begin the season, Rivera did not register a catch until a Week 4 matchup against the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
and finished the victory with only one catch for a yard. On October 30, 2016, he had his best game of the season, making 3 receptions for 36 receiving yards and caught his first touchdown of the season from Derek Carr. He finished the 2016 season with 18 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown in 13 games and two starts.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On March 22, 2017, Rivera signed with 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 ...
. In doing so, he reunited with former high school and college teammate Malik Jackson. On September 1, 2017, Rivera was placed on injured reserve with a hand injury. On February 20, 2018, the Jaguars declined the option on Rivera's contract, making him a free agent.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Personal life
Rivera was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
descent. His parents are Yolanda Rivera, a former model, and George Rivera. His older sister was actress and singer Naya Rivera (1987–2020), best known for her role as
Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), Glee''. The character was portrayed by Naya Rivera, and appeared in ''Glee'' from its Pilot (Glee), pilot episode, first ...
on ''
Glee
Glee may refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album)
* ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album)
* Gle ...
''. His younger sister is runway model Nickayla Rivera (b. 1994).