It wasn't the signing many were looking for, but the Cowboys added a free agent linebacker to the roster Wednesday in the form of veteran Keith Rivers.
It's a position that desperately needed to be addressed, as three of the team's top linebackers from 2014 are set to enter free agency on Tuesday. That's not to say the addition of Rivers will prevent them from signing Bruce Carter, Justin Durant or Rolando McClain -- but it certainly can't hurt.
Rivers signed with the Cowboys on a one-year deal for the league's veteran minimum -- $750,000 with an $80,000 signing bonus.
His story should be a familiar one if you've followed this team's personnel moves in recent seasons. Rivers was the No. 9 overall pick out of Southern California in 2008, but he hasn't lived up to that lofty expectation.
He played his first three seasons in Cincinnati, appearing in just 35 games and accruing 185 tackles in three seasons. A broken jaw sidelined him for the final nine games of his rookie season, and a wrist injury prevented him from taking the field at all in 2011.
The Bengals dealt Rivers to the Giants in 2012 in exchange for a fifth-round pick, and he played two seasons in New York. In that stretch he appeared in 27 of 32 possible games, starting 14, and made 83 total tackles.
He signed a two-year deal in Buffalo last spring, but the Bills released him last month after a lackluster campaign that saw him notch just 16 tackles in 12 appearances -- only three of them starts.
Rivers has the versatility the Cowboys covet, as he has experience playing both strong and weak side linebacker. Regardless of where they opt to line up Anthony Hitchens or Sean Lee, they could play Rivers at either outside position.
This signing probably doesn't finalize the plan at the linebacker spot, however. With three key free agents departing, the Cowboys likely have more work to do in the upcoming weeks to address the position.
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