YaQuis Bertron "Duke" Shelley (born October 8, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

Early life

Shelley grew up in

Tucker, Georgia Tucker is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, located near Atlanta and was originally settled in the 1820s, and later developed as a railroad community in 1892. According to the 2016 United States Census Bureau annual estimat ...

and attended

Tucker High School Tucker High School is the only public high school in Tucker, a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is operated by the DeKalb County School District. Its student body consists of over 1,600 students. Tucker High's boundary includes ...

. He was a three-year starter for the Tigers and was ranked the 22nd best

in his class by '' Rivals.com'' and 33rd by ''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

''.

College career

In four years at

, Shelley recorded 165 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and eight

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. During his junior year in 2017, Shelley started all 12 games and recorded 13 pass breakups, fourth most in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

, and was given honorable mention all-conference honors. His senior year was marred by a season-ending toe injury after seven games.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Shelley was drafted by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the sixth round (205th overall) in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. Shelley signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on June 20, 2019, worth $2,647,832, including a $127,832 signing bonus. Shelley made his NFL debut on September 5, 2019, in the season opener 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He played in nine games as a rookie, mostly on special teams. Shelley entered the 2021 season as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor. He played in nine games with three starts before suffering a hamstring injury in Week 11. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 23, 2021. He was activated on December 21. On August 31, 2022, Shelley was waived by the Bears.

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

On September 6, 2022, Shelley signed with the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

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

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 12, and served as the primary replacement for Cameron Dantzler during his injured reserve stint. He had a game-saving pass deflection in Week 10 against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in a 33–30 win. In Week 18 against the Bears, Shelley recorded his first career interception against Tim Boyle.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 23, 2023, Shelley signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was released on August 29, 2023.

Los Angeles Rams

On September 1, 2023, Shelley signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27, and activated on January 10, 2024.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

On July 23, 2024, Shelley signed with the

. He was released on August 27.

New York Giants

On August 29, 2024, Shelley was signed to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

practice squad. He was released on October 15.

References

External links

Kansas State Wildcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley, Duke Living people 1996 births American football cornerbacks Chicago Bears players Las Vegas Raiders players Los Angeles Rams players Kansas State Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players Sportspeople from Tucker, Georgia Players of American football from DeKalb County, Georgia Tucker High School alumni New York Giants players