Well this sucks, not that it was unexpected, considering he spent the whole season living it up down in Florida.
After one too many concussions, the Packers have cut Sam Shields. I’m guessing no one else is going to pick up a guy who’s head has become a euphemism for the Liberty Bell, so his career is pretty much over.
He was a great story, coming in undrafted out of Miami as a dude who was fast, even faster than me, and had little else in the way of skills, having flamed out of being a receiver because of poor hands (see: GB @ AZ 2015 playoffs).
I give Shields a lot of credit (and Joe Whitt Jr almost as much) for what he accomplished in a short time in the league. More than any of the big plays, like in the 2010 dream run, I will remember a number of times where it looked like some fast dude was breaking away for a score and Shields just flew into the screen from nowhere to chase him down. He was no Ray Lewis, but he tackled just fine for someone with his speed and athleticism.
More than Eddie Lacy or any of the other injuries in 2016, Sam’s, a seemingly innocent hit in week 1, was the most devastating. There is no way the Packers give up 8,000 yards passing is Sammy Boy plays all year. Ifs and buts nonsense, this is a sad day.
Yes, we’ll save a bunch under the cap, but dude was a bargain – and don’t get all giddy about free agents, now, be real.
Thanks for the memories, Sam, enjoy your millions of dollars, you will be are sorely missed.