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 ligaments 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. Rivera was named to the 2011 class of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Dallas Cowboys On March 3, 2005, the Dallas Cowboys acquired Rivera in free agency, after he was coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl nomination and had a streak of 106 consecutive games played. He signed a five-year, $20 million contract with a signing bonus of $9 million (tying the largest ever given to a guard). He injured his back during an offseason workout while running on a treadmill and underwent microdiscectomy surgery to repair a herniated disc. He recovered in time for training camp and the regular season, but suffered a sprained neck injury against the Washington Redskins in week 15 and would miss the final two games. He also underwent offseason surgery in his two elbows. In 2006, he started 16