Shamar Irvin Stephen ( ; born February 25, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

in the seventh round, 220th overall, of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New ...

. He has also played for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Early years

Stephen attended Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in

Brookville, New York Brookville is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,465 at the time of the 2010 census. History The geographic Village of Brookv ...

, where he was a two-sport standout playing football and basketball. As a sophomore, he played both on defense and offense and compiled 9 tackles and a sack while also rushing for 91 yards on 18 carries (5.1 avg.) and a touchdown. As a junior, he started every game at defensive tackle and recorded 41 tackles and 7 sacks. While serving as the team captain in his senior season, he earned All-American Lutheran Team honors after finishing his final prep year with 57 tackles and 12.0 sacks along with 2 blocked kicks, helping lead the Crusaders to a 7-2 record. In

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, he was teammates with current

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

player Tobias Harris as a sophomore.

College career

Stephen played college football at

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

from 2009 to 2013, where he was named a team captain prior to his senior season and also winning team MVP following the season. He was selected to the All-

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

Second Team also in his senior season. Stephen was selected and participated in the 2014 Senior Bowl following the season at Connecticut.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Stephen was selected by the

in the seventh round (220th overall pick) of the

, becoming the first player from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

drafted by the team since running back

Vince Clements Vince Clements (born January 4, 1949) is a former American football running back. He played for the New York Giants from 1972 to 1973. He was acquired by the Giants along with Norm Snead, Bob Grim, a first rounder in 1972 (24th overall–La ...

in 1971.

2014 season

Stephen enjoyed a solid rookie season, with only first-round linebacker Anthony Barr being more productive among Vikings' rookie defenders. In the preseason, he received first-team snaps at nose tackle and lined up in both the nose and three-technique spots. He played 42 snaps against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

in Week 2, getting the second-most playing time of any Vikings defender. Stephen played in all 16 regular season games, the only Vikings rookie to do so, and started three times. He made his professional debut in the Vikings' season opener against the St. Louis Rams on September 7, 2014, notching two total tackles. He started his second career game against the Panthers in Week 13 and notched a career-best 10 tackles, with five solo stops. In the loss at Miami in Week 16, he had a season-high four quarterback hurries. On November 23, he made his first career start against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

, replacing

Sharrif Floyd Sharrif Kalil Floyd (born May 28, 1991) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for the University of Florida, where he was recognized as an All-American in 2012. Floyd was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in ...

at defensive tackle and matching his then career-best with four tackles in the game.

2015 season

In his second season, Stephen played in the first five games of the season for the Vikings. In Week 2, he recovered his first career fumble against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

after he fell on a

Theo Riddick Theo Riddick (born May 4, 1991) is a former American football running back of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has al ...

fumble forced by safety Harrison Smith. The following week, he had season-highs in defensive snaps with 20 and tackles with two against the San Diego Chargers. On October 18, 2015, Stephen suffered a season-ending toe injury against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

in Week 6 and was carted off the field. The Vikings would go on to place him on injured reserve on October 20, 2015.

2016–2017 seasons

In 2016, Stephen started all 16 games, recording a career-high 39 tackles. In 2017, Stephen was moved to a reserve role, starting only one game in 15 games played, recording 28 tackles.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 24, 2018, Stephen signed with the

Return to Minnesota

On March 13, 2019, Stephen returned to the Vikings, signing a three-year, $12.45 million contract. In week 4 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

, Stephen recorded his first sack of his second tenure with the Vikings on

Chase Daniel William Chase Daniel (born October 7, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted ...

in the 16-6 loss. Stephen was released on March 16, 2021.

Denver Broncos

Stephen signed a one-year contract with the

on April 8, 2021.

NFL statistics

References

External links

Connecticut Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, Shamar Living people 1991 births American football defensive tackles UConn Huskies football players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players People from Brookville, New York People from Westbury, New York Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Nassau County, New York 21st-century African-American sportspeople