Sam Shields

For the Scottish footballer, see Sam Shields (footballer).
Sam Shields

refer to caption

Shields in 2011
No. 37Green Bay Packers
Position: Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-12-08) December 8, 1987
Place of birth: Sarasota, Florida
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 184 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school: Sarasota (FL) Booker
College: Miami (FL)
Undrafted: 2010
Career history
Roster status: Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2016
Total tackles: 245
Sacks: 1.0
Pass deflections: 66
Interceptions: 18
Forced fumbles: 1
Player stats at NFL.com

Samuel George Shields III (born December 8, 1987) is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami. Shields was signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

Early years

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Shields attended Booker High School, where he played football, baseball and ran track. In football, he played wide receiver. During his senior year, Shields had 67 receptions for 1,201 yards and 22 touchdowns. His performance helped his team make it to the Class 3A Championship game.[1] Shields was ranked the 17th best wide receiver coming out of high school by Rivals.com.[2] He received athletic scholarship offers from the University of Miami, Louisville, Louisiana State and Pittsburgh.[3]

Shields also lettered twice in track and field while at Sarasota, where he was one of the state's top sprinters. He recorded a personal-best time of 10.47 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and also ran a leg on the Sarasota 4 × 100 meters relay squad that captured the state title with a time of 41.77 seconds.[4]

College career

Shields ultimately decided to play at Miami, where he started seven games in his freshman year. He recorded 37 receptions, the most by a Miami true freshman since Reggie Wayne in 1997.[1] During his first start against Louisville, he caught three passes for 63 yards including a reception for 49 yards.[5] His first touchdown reception came on a trick play where he caught a 37-yard pass from safety Lovon Ponder versus North Carolina.[6] Shields also scored two touchdowns in a game against Duke.[7] Miami earned a bowl bid to the MPC Computers Bowl against Nevada. In the game, Shields had four catches for 101 yards and caught a 78-yard touchdown pass to win the game.[8] His performance earned him a spot as an honorable mention All-American on the freshman team by Sporting News.[5] He was also named a selection to the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Football Team.[9]

During his sophomore season, Shields started five of the ten games that he participated in.[5] On September 20, 2007, in a game against Texas A&M, Shields recorded a career-high 117 yards off six receptions.[10] He finished the season with 27 receptions for 346 yards and three touchdowns.[5]

Shields saw an increase in playing time and played in all 13 games during his junior year either as a receiver or on special teams. He had a season-high three catches for 32 yards against Virginia. He was also voted Miami's Special Teams Player of the Year.[5]

During his final season with the Hurricanes, Shields switched positions from wide receiver to cornerback. During a game against Georgia Tech, he made six tackles. In a match-up between Wake Forest, Shields posted a career-high seven tackles as well as a forced fumble and recovery. He received the Nick Chickillo Most Improved Player award on defense at Miami's awards banquet.[11]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
5 ft 11 in 184 lb 4.30 s 1.56 s 2.48 s 4.19 s 6.79 s 39 in 11 ft 1 in 15 reps
All values are from Pro Day[12]

Shields was projected to be a seventh round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft but went undrafted after being arrested for possession of marijuana and signed with the Green Bay Packers for a minimum contract and a $7,500 bonus.[13][14]

In his rookie year in the NFL, Shields played the nickel back position serving as the third cornerback behind veterans Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams. Shields played in 14 of 16 regular season games, missing two with a calf injury early on.[1] In the regular season, he had 27 tackles (22 solo), with two interceptions and nine defensed passes. During the opening game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles, Shields and teammate Morgan Burnett became the first rookie defensive back tandem to start for the Packers since the AFL and NFL merged.[1] The first interception of his entire career came against the Dallas Cowboys.[14] He had one more that season against the New York Giants. During the playoffs, Shields added an additional 13 tackles (eight solo) with two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a sack.[1] In the 2011 NFC Championship game, Shields intercepted Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie in the final minute to send the Packers to Super Bowl XLV. Shields recorded two interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble in the game, the only rookie in NFL history to do so in a playoff game and only the fifth NFL player to do so since 1982 when the NFL began tracking sacks as an official statistic.

Shields had 2 tackles in the Packers victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Shields suffered a shoulder injury late in the second quarter and saw limited play time in the second half.[15]

Shields started 3 games at cornerback in the 2011 regular season and contributed in 15 games overall, intercepting 4 passes and making 45 tackles along with 1 forced fumble.[16]

During the Week 3 Green Bay Packers at the Seattle Seahawks game during the 2012 NFL season, Shields was shoved down during a play by Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate at the end of regulation play that resulted in a simultaneously catch by Tate and Packers safety M. D. Jennings as ruled by officials and which gave the Seahawks their second victory of the season. The NFL would later release an official statement that acknowledged pass interference should have been called on Tate, but supported the decision to uphold the play.

On March 8, 2014, just days away from becoming a free agent, Shields signed a four-year contract with the Packers for $39 million, including a signing bonus of $12.5 million.[17]

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.[18] After missing the next four games still recovering, he was eventually placed on injured reserve on October 18, 2016.[19][20]

Statistics

Source: NFL.com

Year Team G GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
Regular season
2010 GB 14 6 29 25 4 0.0 0 6 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2011 GB 15 7 45 42 3 0.0 0 12 4 68 17.0 60 0 1 0
2012 GB 10 8 28 23 5 1.0 0 10 3 32 10.7 32 0 0 1
2013 GB 14 14 61 51 10 0.0 0 16 4 3 0.8 7 0 0 0
2014 GB 14 14 40 33 7 0.0 0 9 2 62 31.0 62 0 0 0
2015 GB 12 12 39 37 2 0.0 0 13 3 15 5.0 15 0 0 1
2016 GB 1 1 3 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 80 62 245 214 31 1.0 0 66 18 180 10.0 62 0 1 2
Postseason
2010 GB 4 2 13 13 0 1.0 0 3 2 40 20.0 32 0 1 0
2011 GB 1 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2012 GB 2 2 11 9 2 0.0 0 4 2 52 26.0 52 1 0 0
2013 GB 1 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2014 GB 2 2 4 3 1 0.0 0 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2015 GB 1 1 3 3 0 0.0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 11 8 32 28 4 1.0 0 12 5 92 18.4 52 1 1 0

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Green Bay Packers: Sam Shields". Packers.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  2. "Rivals.com Wide receivers 2006". Sports.Yahoo.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  3. "Rivals: Sam Shields". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  4. "Sam Shields - Miami-Florida - Packers CB". TrackingFootball.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Miami Hurricanes: Sam Shields". HurricaneSports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  6. "James helps 'Canes to much-needed win over Tar Heels". ESPN.com. October 7, 2006. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  7. "USAToday.com - Miami vs. Duke". USAToday.com. October 21, 2006. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  8. "Miami vs. Nevada - Game Recap". ESPN.com. January 1, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  9. "Eight Hurricanes on 2006 ACC Academic Football Team". HurricaneSports.com. February 13, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  10. "Wright stellar in Miami's romp over Texas A&M". ESPN.com. September 21, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  11. "Surprise MVP picks at team awards". Rivals.com. December 6, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  12. "Sam Shields - Miami (FL), CB : 2010 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  13. Demovsky, Rob (April 24, 2010). "Packers begin signing undrafted free agents". Green Bay Press Gazzette. Green Bay Press Gazzette. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Milian, Jorge (January 21, 2012). "Sam Shields excels as a Green Bay cornerback after being a disappointment as a Miami Hurricanes receiver". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  15. "Packers lose cornerbacks Woodson, Shields to shoulder injuries at Super Bowl". Star Tribune. Arlington, Texas. Associated Press. February 7, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  16. "Sam Shields, DB for the Green Bay Packers". National Football League. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  17. Wesseling, Chris (March 8, 2014). "Sam Shields, Packers strike four-year, $39M contract". NFL.com. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  18. Demovsky, Rob (September 12, 2016). "Mike McCarthy: Sam Shields will be evaluated 'each and every day'". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  19. Demovsky, Rob (October 18, 2016). "Packers place CB Sam Shields on injured reserve". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  20. "Packers acquire RB Knile Davis via trade, place CB Sam Shields on IR". Packers.com. October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
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