Sam Shields

Shields went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, but received contract offers from seven teams. On April 26, 2010, the Green Bay Packers signed Shields, as an undrafted free agent, to a three-year, $1.22 million contract that includes a $7,500 signing bonus. The contract was for the rookie minimum for undrafted free agents [16][17]

Throughout training camp, Shields competed to be the nickelback or dime back against Brandon Underwood and Pat Lee.[18] Head coach Mike McCarthy named Shields the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams.[19]

He made his first career start and professional regular season debut in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the Philadelphia Eagles and recorded three combined tackles in their 27–20 victory.[20] Shields and safety Morgan Burnett became the first rookie defensive back tandem to start for the Packers since the AFL and NFL merged.[1] He was inactive for two games (Weeks 4–5) due to a calf injury.[1] On November 11, 2010, Shields recorded a season-high two pass deflections, a solo tackle, and recorded his first career interception during a 45–7 victory against the Dallas Cowboys.[20] He intercepted a pass by quarterback Jon Kitna that was intended for wide receiver Miles Austin in the first quarter.[21] On December 12, 2010, Shields collected a season-high six solo tackles in the Packers' 7–3 loss at the Detroit Lions.[20] He completed his rookie season in 2010 with 29 tackles (25 solo), six passes defensed, and two interceptions in 14 games and six starts.[22] He also served as a kick returner and had 21 kick returns for 452-yards (21.5 YPR).

The Green Bay Packers finished second in the NFC North with a 10–6 record and earned a wildcard berth. On January 9, 2011, Shields started in his first career playoff game and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 21–16 victory at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wildcard Game. The Packers then defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Round.[20] On January 23, 2011, Shields started in the NFC Championship game and recorded four solo tackles, deflected two passes, made two interceptions, a sack, and forced a fumble during a 21–14 win at the Chicago Bears. He intercepted a pass by quarterback Caleb Hanie, that was intended for wide receiver Johnny Knox, with less than 47 seconds left to seal the Packers' victory and send them to Super Bowl XLV.[23] On February 6, 2011, Shields collected two solo tackles in the Packers' 31–25 victory against the Pittsburgh in win Super Bowl XLV.[24] Shields injured his shoulder in the second quarter and had difficulty covering receivers due to his limited mobility.[25][26]

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers retained Shields as the third cornerback on the depth chart, behind Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams, to begin the regular season.[27] He started in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the New Orleans Saints and collected a season-high eight combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 42–34 victory.[28] In Week 4, he collected five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for a 60-yard gain during a 49–24 victory against the Denver Broncos.[28] On October 16, 2011, he recorded five solo tackles, broke up a pass, and made an interception before exiting the Packers' 24–3 victory over the St. Louis Rams in the third quarter due to a concussion.[29] Shields intercepted a jump ball thrown by Sam Bradford, that was originally intended for wide receiver Danario Alexander in the endzone, and was blindsided by wide receiver Brandon Gibson during the return. The hit by Gibson made direct impact with Shields' helmet and caused a concussion that sidelined him for the Packers' Week 7 victory at the Minnesota Vikings. The concussion reportedly caused him dizziness and headaches for multiple days.[30] On December 11, 2011, he made one tackle, a season-high two pass deflections, and an interception in the Packers' 46–16 win against the Oakland Raiders in Week 14.[28] Shields finished the season with 45 combined tackles (42 solo), 12 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble in 15 games and seven starts.[22]

Throughout training camp, Shields competed to be a starting cornerback against Davon House, Jarrett Bush, and rookie Casey Hayward after Charles Woodson was moved to safety to replace Nick Collins.[31] Head coach Mike McCarthy officially named Shields the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Tramon Williams and Jarrett Bush.[32][33] Cornerback Davon House was slated to be the starting cornerback with Tramon Williams, but sustained a shoulder injury in the preseason and was inactive for the first six regular season games.[34]

In Week 2, Shields surpassed Jarrett Bush on the depth chart and became a starting cornerback along with Tramon Williams. On September 24, 2012, Shields recorded two combined tackles and a pass deflection in the Green Bay Packers 14–12 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.[35] During the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, Shields was shoved down by Seahawks' wide receiver Golden Tate while attempting to cover him during a last ditch attempt at a hail mary by Seattle. The pass was simultaneously caught by Golden Tate and Packers' safety M. D. Jennings and immediately ruled as a touchdown by one official and an interception by another. The play went under review and was ruled as a catch by head official Wayne Elliot, giving the Seattle Seahawks a 14–12 victory.[36] The play was highly controversial and the NFL would later release an official statement acknowledging the shove by Tate that should've been called for offensive pass interference. It was dubbed the "Inaccurate Reception" and "Fail Mary" while highlighting the problems surrounding the NFL's choice to hire replacement officials during the NFL's officials strike.[37] In Week 5, Shields collected a season-high five solo tackles and broke up a pass during a 30–27 loss at the Indianapolis Colts.[35] Shields was inactive for six games (Weeks 7–13) after suffering a high ankle sprain during a Week 6 win at the Houston Texans.[38] On December 23, 2012, he made one tackle, two pass deflections, an interception, and his first career sack during a 55–7 victory against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. Shields made his first career sack on quarterback Jake Locker for an eight-yard loss in the fourth quarter.[39] Shields finished the 2012 season with 28 combined tackles (23 solo), ten passes defensed, three interceptions, and a sack in ten games and eight starts.[22]

The Green Bay Packers finished first in the NFC North with an 11–5 record and earned playoff berth. On January 6, 2013, Shields recorded seven combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made an interception during a 24–10 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wildcard Game.[35] On January 12, 2013, he collected four solo tackles, made two pass deflections, intercepted two passes, and scored his first career touchdown in the Packers' 45–31 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round. During the 49ers' first offensive drive of the game, he intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, that was originally intended for tight end Vernon Davis, and returned it for a 52-yard touchdown.[40]

During training camp, Shields competed against Davon House and Casey Hayward for a job as a starting cornerback. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Shields a starting cornerback to start the season, alongside Tramon Williams.[41] He started in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the San Francisco 49ers and collected a season-high nine combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 34–28 loss.[42] Shields was sidelined for two games (Weeks 11–12) after suffering a hamstring injury.[43] He completed the 2013 season with a career-high 61 combined tackles (51 solo), a career-high 14 pass deflections, and four interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts.[22]

On March 8, 2014, the Green Bay Packers signed Shields to a four-year, $39 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $12.50 million.[44]

Shields entered training camp slated as a starting cornerback and competed to retain the role against Davon House and Casey Hayward. Head coach Mike McCarthy officially named Shields and Tramon Williams the starting cornerbacks duo to begin the 2014 regular season.[45] On September 28, 2014, Shields recorded three solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and an interception in the Packers' 38–17 win at the Chicago Bears in Week 4.[46] He was inactive for two games (Weeks 7–8) after sustaining a knee injuring during a Week 6 victory at the Miami Dolphins.[47] In Week 10, Shields collected a season-high six solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 55–14 victory against the Chicago Bears. He finished the season with 40 combined tackles (33 solo), nine passes defensed, and two interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts.[22]

Shields suffered a concussion while making a tackle on Jacksonville Jaguars running back T. J. Yeldon in Week 1 during the 2016 season. This marked his fourth known concussion in his NFL career.[48] After missing the next four games still recovering, he was eventually placed on injured reserve on October 18, 2016.[49][50]

On February 8, 2017, Shields was released by the Packers after seven seasons with the team.[51][52]

On March 8, 2018, Shields signed with the Los Angeles Rams after sitting out the entire 2017 season while recovering from concussions.[53] In his first season with the Rams, Shields recorded 22 tackles and 1 interception. Shields mainly played on special teams throughout the season. In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints with the Rams down 13-0 early in the second quarter, the Rams did a fake punt and Shields caught the ball from Johnny Hekker for 12 yards to help the Rams get their first score of the game. The Rams went on to win in overtime 26-23 to advance to Super Bowl LIII where they lost 13-3 to the New England Patriots.