Mychal Rivera is an American football tight end. He has played for Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars. He is the brother of the American actress Naya Rivera.
Wiki/Biography
Mychal Rivera was born on Saturday, September 8, 1990 (age 30 years; as in 2020), in Los Angeles, California, as Mychal Rashawn Rivera.
Childhood Picture of Mychal Rivera with his Family
He studied at Birmingham Community Charter High School, Los Angeles, and was a member of the school’s football team. He caught 21 passes for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns as a senior in 2007 helping his team to lead at West Valley League championship. Rivals.com rated him as 3-star prospect and ranked him the 39th overall tight end by for the 2007 class. He has done majors in Communication Studies.
Physical Appearance
Height [1]NFL – Player Profile: 6’ 3”
Weight [2]NFL – Player Profile: 111 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Family & Ethnicity
Parents & Siblings
He was born to Puerto Rican-German actor George Rivera and Puerto Rican-African-American model Yolanda Rivera. [3]Conan Daily
Mychal Rivera’s Mother
Mychal Rivera’s Father
He has two sisters- Naya Rivera, American actress and singer, and Nickayla Rivera, a model.
Mychal Rivera with Naya Rivera
Mychal Rivera’s Sister- Nickayla Rivera
Wife & Children
He is married to Siera Rivera (since 2015). The duo has a son named Ricci Rivera.
Mychal Rivera with his Wife
College Career
Initially, he signed for the Oregon Ducks program for the 2008 season. After he was put in the offensive line with Ducks coach Chip Kelly, he requested and was granted a release from his scholarship. He then joined the College of Canyons and caught 32 passes for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns in the 2009 season. In January 2010, Rivera signed with Tennessee Volunteers. In the 2010 season, he played all thirteen games and collected 11 catches for 112 yards; his season-best was against Memphis when he caught 3 passes for 29 yards. Before the 2012 season, he was named to the pre-season All-SEC Third Team; 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 joined Reggie Harper as one of two Tennessee Volunteers tight ends with more than 1,000 career receiving yards.
Mychal Rivera Playing for Tennesse Volunteers
Professional Career
Oakland Raiders
In 2013, Raiders selected Mychal as the eleventh tight end in the sixth round (184th overall) of the NFL Draft. In 2013, he began his rookie season behind Jeron Mastrud as the backup tight end and caught two passes for 26-yards in a season-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts. On September 29, 2013, on an 18-yard pass from Matt Flynn, he caught his first career touchdown. The following week, he caught one pass for 5-yards and earned his first career start against the San Diego Chargers. On November 24, 2013, Rivera suffered a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Michael Griffin in the Raiders’ loss to the Tennessee Titans. On November 2, 2014, he finished a loss to the Seattle Seahawks 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, he caught 6 passes for 64-yards and a touchdown against Denver Broncos during the Raider’s 17-41 loss. On December 7, 2014, against the San Francisco 49ers, Rivera caught 7 passes for a career-high 109 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Mychal Rivera as a Member of Oakland Riders
After a career season in 2014, it was thought that he was going to be the starting tight end into the 2015 season, but head coach Jack Del Ria chose a free agent Lee Smith instead and drafted Clive Walford in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Although he began the season as the backup to Smith he eventually lost snaps to the emerging Walford. On November 15, 2015, he caught a season-high six passes for 46 receiving yards during a 14-30 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, which became one of his best games of the season. In 2016, Walford was decided as the starting tight end going into the 2016 season, and the Oakland Raiders reportedly were looking to trade Rivera. After Raiders could not find a trade partner, they decided to keep him for 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 and finished the victory with only one catch for a yard. On October 30, 2016, he made 3 receptions for 36 receiving yards and caught his first touchdown of the season from Derek Carr, which was his best game of the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On March 22, 2017, Rivera signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. After joining them, he met with former high school and college teammate Malik Jackson. After his hand injury, on September 1, 2017, Rivera was placed on injured reserve. He was declined with the contract options by Jaguars and was made a free agent on February 20, 2018.
Mychal Rivera Playing for Jacksonville Jaguars
Facts/Trivia
- In 2012, he was named All-SEC by both CBSSports and the SEC coaches, and All-SEC Second Team by the Associated Press.
- His shoulders, chest, and arms are covered in tattoos.
- On July 8, 2020, after his nephew, Josey (Naya’s son), was found on the rented boat alone at Lake Piru, Naya was declared missing. After a few days, Mychal, along with the other family members joined the search team at the lake. On July 13, Naya’s body was finally found and she was declared dead.
Mychal Rivera and his Mother at Lake Piru
References
| ↑1, ↑2 | NFL – Player Profile |
|---|---|
| ↑3 | Conan Daily |