Keith Rivers Released by Bills: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Linebacker Keith Rivers, who spent just one year with the Buffalo Bills, has been released.     

The team announced the news Tuesday: 

Rivers, who signed a two-year deal last offseason, played just 186 defensive snaps, per The Buffalo News' Jay Skurski. He battled a groin injury earlier in the year and was never able to climb the depth chart and make an impact, despite Kiko Alonso missing the season. 

With Alonso, Preston Brown and Nigel Bradham likely sitting atop the depth chart, Rivers was going to make $1.6 million as a backup in 2015. Instead, this move saves Buffalo $1.7 million in cap space and creates just $500,000 in dead money, according to OverTheCap.com. 

Not only does it make plenty of sense monetarily, but Rivers wasn't a great fit in new head coach Rex Ryan's defense, as Around The NFL on Twitter noted:

Rivers, 28, should be able to latch on somewhere as a solid veteran linebacker for depth, but it was clear throughout the 2014 season he simply didn't have a future in Buffalo. 

As for the Bills, this move gives them a little more flexibility heading into free agency to fortify other needs, such as offensive line.