Linebacker Keith Rivers, who signed with the Bills at the start of the 2014 free agent period, will be on the lookout for a new job again this winter. The Bills announced today in a press release that they’ve parted ways with Rivers, terminating his contract a year before it was set to expire.
Rivers, who previously spent time with the Bengals and Giants, played just 12 games for the Bills in 2014, starting three. Of his 192 defensive snaps, nearly all of them came in the first half — the former ninth overall pick played just 24 snaps on defense after Week 8.
In his preview of the Bills’ offseason on Sunday, PFR’s Connor Byrne identified Rivers as a potential cap candidate, considering his dwindling role in Buffalo was paired with a $2.2MM cap hit. Buffalo won’t clear that entire amount from its books by cutting Rivers, but the team will be left with just $500K in dead money, creating $1.7MM in cap savings.
Rivers won’t have to pass through waivers, and is immediately eligible to sign with a new team.