Marco Rivera Marco Anthony Rivera ( born April 26 , 1972 ) is a former American football guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) . Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent . Early years . Rivera attended Elmont Memorial High School in Long Island , New York . He was an excellent all - around athlete and won five varsity letters each in football as an offensive lineman and basketball , and three in lacrosse . College career . Rivera attended Penn State University from 1992 to 1995 . He had a notable career at Penn State as a three - year starter and four - time letter winner ( 1992 – 95 ) . He played in 41 career games for the Nittany Lions , making 31 starts . His experience also included appearances in three bowl games - the Outback , Rose and Blockbuster . He earned second - team All - Big Ten honors in both his junior and senior seasons . He earned his Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice from Penn State in 1995 . Professional career . Rivera was chosen by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft . During his first year , he was inactive for all 16 regular season games , Rivera was a key practice contributor to the Packers run to their third world title in Super Bowl XXXI . In 1997 , Rivera was allocated to the Scottish Claymores of the World League and started all ten games , helping his team finish third in the league in total offense . He was named honorable mention All - World League by " Pro Football Weekly " . Rivera returned to Green Bay and saw action in 14 regular season games , primarily on special teams as a member of the field goal and extra point units and on kickoffs . He was inactive for the Packers first two contests before seeing action in the club ' s final 14 games as well as all three playoff contests . In 1998 , Rivera started 15 of 16 regular season games at the left guard spot after winning the job in training camp over another ex - Claymore , Joe Andruzzi . He also started the Packers NFC Wild Card playoff game at San Francisco . In 1999 , Rivera started all 16 games for the first time in his career , playing the entire season at right guard after successfully making the transition from the left side where he had started the year before . In 2000 and 2001 , Rivera started 32 consecutive games at right guard for the three straight seasons . In 2002 , Rivera raised his game to a higher level in his fifth season as a starter with a performance that earned him his first career Pro Bowl selection . He started every game of the season - despite playing with torn medial collateral ligament s in both knees . In 2003 , Rivera battled through a knee injury that he suffered late in the preseason and went on to start all 16 games ( and two playoff games ) for the fifth straight year . He was named as a starter on the NFC Pro Bowl squad after serving as a backup for his initial appearance in the NFL ' s annual all - star game in 2002 . He was also a second - team All - Pro selection of the Associated Press and Football Digest as well as being named to the All - NFC team as selected by Pro Football Weekly . In 2004 , Rivera was the anchor on the Green Bay offensive line , Rivera completed his seventh straight season as a starting guard . In starting all 16 regular season games , plus the playoff contest against Minnesota , Rivera earned the starting guard spot on the NFC Pro Bowl squad for a second straight season and also was named to the All - NFC squad by Pro Football Weekly . In 2005 , the Dallas Cowboys acquired Rivera in free agency . He started 14 of 16 regular season missing the final two contests with a neck injury . On June 7 , 2007 , Marco Rivera was released by the Dallas Cowboys due to serious back problems . Rivera was named to the 2011 class of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame . Statistics . As of the end of the 2006 season , Rivera has played in 155 NFL games starting a total of 141 games , 12 tackles , and 3 fumble recoveries as an offensive lineman . He has three Pro Bowl selections .