Jeremiah Sirles (born August 8, 1991) is an American former 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 ...

guard. 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 ...

at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. He was a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Sirles played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for the Bear Creek High School Bears of

Lakewood, Colorado Lakewood is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 15 ...

. He was named to the Rocky Mountain News' All-Colorado squad his junior and senior years. He also earned first-team All-Colorado and all-conference honors as a junior, helping his team reach the state quarterfinals. As a sophomore, Sirles helped Bear Creek reach the state quarterfinals, garnering first-team All-South Metro League and second-team all-state honors. He also participated 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 (appro ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

at Bear Creek, helping his basketball team to the state tournament in his senior year.

College career

Sirles played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2010 to 2013. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2009. He played in 53 games, starting 41 for the Cornhuskers. He was the 2013 recipient of the Cornhuskers' Guy Chamberlin Award. Sirles also earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as a senior and second-team All-Big Ten as a junior, along with Academic All-Big Ten honors his senior year.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Sirles signed with the

on May 10, 2014, after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft. He was signed to the Chargers' practice squad on August 31, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2014. Sirles made his NFL debut on December 20, 2014, against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

filling in as guard for an injured Johnnie Troutman. He made his first career start at right guard on December 28, 2014, 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Minnesota Vikings

Sirles was traded to the

on September 5, 2015, for a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. In the 22–10 upset at Carolina in Week 3 of the 2016 season, Sirles played the final 39 minutes at left guard when Alex Boone went down because of a hip injury. The following week, Sirles stepped in at right tackle after Andre Smith went down with an elbow injury with eight minutes left in the first quarter. With Sirles on the field for the final 52 minutes, the Vikings scored 24 points, did not give up a sack, surpassed 100 yards rushing and scored their first two rushing touchdowns of the season. A week later, Sirles made his first start at right tackle in the Vikings' 31–13 win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He was the highest graded Viking offensive lineman in the game according to Pro Football Focus. In 2017, Sirles played in 14 games as a backup guard and center, where he started four games in place of injured starters Nick Easton and Pat Elflein.

Carolina Panthers

On March 23, 2018, Sirles signed a one-year contract with the

, reuniting with former Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2018. He was released on September 6, 2018.

Buffalo Bills

On September 25, 2018, Sirles was signed by the

. On January 16, 2019, Sirles signed a one-year contract extension with the Bills. He was placed on injured reserve on July 23, 2019, with a foot injury. He was released on July 31, 2019. Sirles announced his retirement from football on March 2, 2020.

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirles, Jeremiah Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Colorado Sportspeople from Lakewood, Colorado American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Nebraska Cornhuskers football players San Diego Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players Carolina Panthers players Buffalo Bills players