Broncos roster 2015: Gerald Rivers

A day-by-day Broncos player breakdown is something we've been doing since our days at BroncoTalk nearly a decade ago. This year the tradition continues as we look at the Denver Broncos roster heading into the 2015 season in our 90-in-90 series.

Name: Gerald Rivers
Position: OLB
Height: 6'2"    Weight: 250
Age: 25    Experience: 2
College: Mississippi

Gerald Rivers was signed by the St. Louis Rams in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. He was released by the team at the end of that year only to be claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who then released him in August 2014.

Denver brought in Rivers in all likelihood as a project for our coaches to work on. He has limited experience in the NFL but really looked to have a lot of upside athletically coming out of college.

The good: This is the kind of guy who at least appears that he may have a high ceiling. As a defensive end, Rivers ran a pretty impressive 4.56 40-yard dash in his regional combine. His skill set in space is very good as he showed us in week 1 of the 2015 by getting a sack. If he can keep learning and take to his coaching, he'll have a shot to contribute.

The bad: Rivers sat out a season in college due to academics. That doesn't necessarily mean that he can't hack it in the NFL, but it definitely puts him under a skeptical eye for many in coaching circles. The other thing against him is inexperience. Linebackers who don't see the field in the first couple years out of college don't often pan out.

Status: I think Rivers is a long shot to make the team, but he may be stashed on the practice squad. He's up against some pretty stiff competition with our defensive talent at OLB.