maineman209
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
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- Mar 8, 2017
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I wonder if they are seeing Rivers as more of a stand-up player which is why they are being slow with him.
Much to learn about the running and passing game hes does (with a Yoda voice)
I've wondered about the OLB possibilities with Rivers, too. He measured 6041/248 at the Combine. His 4.60 40-yd and 1.60 10-yd are very good for a "big" LB. But then there's his 4.79 shuttle and the fact that he didn't even perform the 3-cone.
OTOH, pre-draft measureables certainly aren't worth much out of context, and, in his first pre-season, before the ACL, it appeared that the Pats were playing him off the line a bit, and even dropping him into coverage.
Regardless, if he's not active, it's likely that the Pats coaches aren't (yet) seeing what they need to see from him in whatever role they think is best for him - or, at least, not enough of it to make him active over someone else for that specific game.
He could be anywhere between "really close to becoming a regular" to "long way to go" ... as far as we can know.