Two words to describe Derek Rivers is “injury prone”. For his whole 2-year career, Rivers has been non-existent on the Patriots roster due to injuries. In his total career, Derek has 2 tackles and 1 sack. Coming out of College, the Pats drafted him in the third round in 2017. He was expected to contribute right away but even before training camp began in his rookie season, Rivers tore his ACL and for many NFL players, that is an injury that could end a career. Rivers came back the following year as he played 6 games in 2018 and played minimal snaps in those games due to his knee still being sore.
Now in 2019, Rivers is on the bubble to make the 53-man roster due to his lack of work he has shown the Patriots. If Derek can stay healthy through training camp, Bill Belichick might give him significant snaps in the preseason. The only way to measure talent is to see it in live action, right? With a stacked defensive line group, Rivers will need to sperate himself from the rest of the pack with his performance. With the speed, he has off the edge, Bill is looking for guys like that to play consistently on the field.
Could I realistically see Rivers making the 53-man roster? Sure I could because he has put in the time and effort to get his mind and body right for training camp in a couple of weeks. If he can do what he did at Youngstown State, Rivers could be getting some reps with the first team. Bill Belichick is a hard person to win over but when you can show that being a team player is important to you, he will reward you.
–Robert Marcello is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage Sports Media and covers the New England Patriots. Follow him on Twitter @RobertMarcello5
