Sam Shields is giving it another go, and he’s heading west to do so.
The veteran cornerback signed with the Los Angeles Rams, the team announced Thursday.
Signed as an undrafted free agent by Green Bay in 2010, Shields grew to become an effective corner for the Packers for much of the decade, making the Pro Bowl in 2014 before concussions became an issue. He suffered his fourth of his career in the first game of the 2016 season and hasn’t played since.
Shields had a visit scheduled with the Cleveland Browns this week, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, but decided to sign with the team he visited first. If he can stay healthy, he’ll bring experience to the back end of a defense that ranked 13th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, just retained its stellar safety Lamarcus Joyner and has a deal in place to acquire rising star corner Marcus Peters.
Shields also serves as an insurance policy and depth addition in case the Rams lose both Nickell Robey-Coleman and Trumaine Johnson in free agency, which begins next week and seems likely after the agreement to acquire Peters.