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

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

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 formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. 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 UConn. He was selected by 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 ...

in the seventh round, 220th overall, of the 2014 NFL draft. He 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Early life

Stephen attended Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in Brookville, New York, 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 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 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 (appro ...

, he was teammates with current

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

player Tobias Harris as a sophomore.

College career

Stephen played college football at

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

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 (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

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

College statistics

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

2014 season

Stephen was selected by the

in the seventh round (220th overall pick) of the 2014 NFL draft, becoming the first player from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

drafted by the team since running back Vince Clements in 1971. 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) NFC West, West division. The ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, replacing Sharrif Floyd 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

after he fell on a Theo Riddick 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

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

, Stephen recorded his first sack of his second tenure with the Vikings on Chase Daniel 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 Sportspeople from Westbury, New York Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Nassau County, New York 21st-century African-American sportsmen