By PFW staff
Aug. 5, 2008

The Bengals signed LB Keith Rivers, the No. 9 overall pick, on Tuesday night. Terms were not disclosed. Rivers, a USC product, is expected to start at weak-side linebacker.

“We are excited to have Keith with us,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said in a prepared statement. “He’s behind (having missed 12 practices due to contract negotiations), but we’ll work to get him up to speed, and we know he’s the kind of player who will get himself caught up. Right from the start, through the draft and minicamps, he has shown us things that are innate to successful NFL linebackers.”

DE Derrick Harvey, whom the Jaguars selected one spot before Rivers, is the lone unsigned first-round pick.