Sam Shields' return to football after missing almost two full seasons due to concussion issues flew under the radar most of the 2018 season as he helped the Los Angeles Rams make it to the Super Bowl.
Now that he's returned, the 31-year-old cornerback isn't thinking about retirement.
"Man, it's a blessing. Just a dream -- what I went through, getting to where I got to in the Super Bowl, just the whole season, what I accomplished -- not giving up, going through the mental part of it, I beat all odds," Shields told the team's official website. "And I feel myself again. I feel like I want to keep going some more."
Shields was one of just four Rams players to have previously played in a Super Bowl before the 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Spending his first seven years with the Green Bay Packers, where he won a Lombardi Trophy as a rookie, Shields played just one game in 2016 and missed all of the 2017 campaign.
The veteran signed in L.A. last offseason to provide depth. He played a significant role as the Rams dealt with an injury to Aqib Talib during the middle portion of the 2018 slate. When the Rams CB trio of Talib, Marcus Peters and Nickell Robey-Coleman was healthy, Shields was relegated to special team's duty. Shields didn't play a single defensive snap during the playoffs, while taking part in 55 special teams plays, per Next Gen Stats.
Without a contract for 2019, Shields would like to remain in L.A., if the Rams can fit him in their plans.
"For sure, you know, whatever it takes," Shields said. "I know how this business is, so if it's right, it's right -- I'll be back. But business is business."
