Shields was projected to be a seventh round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 28th best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com. Throughout training camp, Shields competed to be the nickelback or dime back against
Brandon Underwood and
Pat Lee. Head coach
Mike McCarthy named Shields the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind
Charles Woodson and
Tramon Williams. On September 12, 2010, Shields earned his first career start and made his professional regular season debut in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the
Philadelphia Eagles and recorded three combined tackles in their 27–20 victory. On December 12, 2010, Shields collected a season-high six solo tackles in the Packers' 7–3 loss at the
Detroit Lions. He also served as a kick returner and had 21 kick returns for 452-yards (21.5 YPR). The Green Bay Packers finished second in the
NFC North with a 10–6 record and earned a wildcard berth. On January 9, 2011, Shields started in his first career playoff game and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 21–16 victory at the
Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wildcard Game. The Packers then defeated the
Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Round. On January 23, 2011, Shields started in the
2010 NFC Championship Game and recorded four solo tackles, deflected two passes, made two interceptions, had a sack, and forced a fumble during a 21–14 win at the
Chicago Bears. He intercepted a pass by
quarterback Caleb Hanie, that was intended for wide receiver
Johnny Knox, with less than 47 seconds left to seal the Packers' victory and send them to Super Bowl XLV. On February 6, 2011, Shields collected two solo tackles in the Packers' 31–25 victory against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in win
Super Bowl XLV. Shields injured his shoulder in the second quarter and had difficulty covering receivers due to his limited mobility.
2011 Defensive coordinator
Dom Capers retained Shields as the third cornerback on the depth chart, behind Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams, to begin the regular season. On September 8, 2011, he started in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the
New Orleans Saints and collected a season-high eight combined tackles (seven solo) and two pass deflections in their 42–34 victory. Shields intercepted a jump ball thrown by
Sam Bradford, that was originally intended for wide receiver
Danario Alexander in the endzone, and was blindsided by wide receiver
Brandon Gibson during the return. The hit by Gibson made direct impact with Shields' helmet and caused a concussion that sidelined him for the Packers' Week 7 victory at the
Minnesota Vikings. The concussion reportedly caused him dizziness and headaches for multiple days. On December 11, 2011, he made one tackle, a season-high two pass deflections, and an interception in the Packers' 46–16 win against the
Oakland Raiders in Week 14. Shields finished the season with 45 combined tackles (42 solo), 12 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble in 15 games and seven starts. Shields became the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season after Davon House injured his shoulder duting the preseason and was inactive for the first six regular season games. With his absence, head coach Mike McCarthy elected to name Tramon Williams and Jarrett Bush the starting cornerbacks in Week 1. In Week 2, Shields supplanted Jarrett Bush as a starting cornerback and started alongside Tramon Williams. In Week 4, head coach Mike McCarthy decided to move starting free safety Charles Woodson back to starting cornerback, replacing Shields for the rest of the season. On September 24, 2012, Shields recorded two combined tackles and a pass deflection in the
Green Bay Packers 14–12 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. During the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, Shields was shoved to the ground by Seahawks'
wide receiver Golden Tate while he was covering him during a last ditch hail mary by Seattle. The pass was simultaneously caught by Golden Tate and Packers'
safety M. D. Jennings and immediately ruled as a touchdown by one official while his colleague signaled it was an interception. After a review by officials, it was ruled as a touchdown reception by head official Wayne Elliot, giving the Seattle Seahawks a 14–12 victory. The play was highly controversial and the NFL would later release an official statement acknowledging the shove by Tate that should've been called for offensive pass interference. It was dubbed the
"Inaccurate Reception" and "Fail Mary" while highlighting the problems surrounding the NFL's choice to hire replacement officials during the NFL's officials strike. In Week 5, Shields collected a season-high five solo tackles and broke up a pass during a 30–27 loss at the
Indianapolis Colts. On December 23, 2012, he made one tackle, two pass deflections, an interception, and had his first career sack, dropping Titans' quarterback
Jake Locker for an eight-yard loss in the fourth quarter during a 55–7 victory against the
Tennessee Titans in Week 16 He finished the
2012 season with a total of 28 combined tackles (23 solo), ten passes defensed, three interceptions, and one sack in ten games and eight starts.
2013 On March 12, 2013, the Green Bay Packers signed Shields to a one–year, $2.02 million contract. Defensive coordinator
Dom Capers and cornerbacks coach
Joe Whitt Jr. held an open competition between Davon House, Tramon Williams, and Casey Hayward. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Shields and Tramon Williams as the starting cornerbacks to kick off the season. He started in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the
San Francisco 49ers and collected a season-high nine combined tackles (seven solo) and two pass deflections in their 34–28 loss. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 11–12) after suffering a
hamstring injury. On December 15, 2013, Shields made five solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by
Tony Romo to wide receiver
Miles Austin. He completed the
2013 season with a career-high 61 combined tackles (51 solo), a career-high 14 pass deflections, and four interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts. He entered training camp slated as a
de facto starting cornerback. Head coach Mike McCarthy officially named Shields and Tramon Williams the starting cornerbacks duo to begin the 2014 regular season. On September 28, 2014, Shields recorded three solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by
Jay Cutler in the Packers' 38–17 win at the
Chicago Bears in Week 4. He was inactive for two games (Weeks 7–8) after sustaining a knee injuring during a Week 6 victory at the
Miami Dolphins. In Week 10, Shields collected a season-high six solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 55–14 victory against the Chicago Bears. He finished the season with 40 combined tackles (33 solo), nine passes defensed, and two interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Shields and Casey Hayward the starting cornerbacks to begin the season. On September 28, 2015, he produced six solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Alex Smith during a 38–28 win against the
Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 6, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles during a 27–20 victory against the
San Diego Chargers. He was inactive during a Week 9 loss at the
Carolina Panthers after injuring his shoulder. On December 13, 2015, he made one solo tackle, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Matt Cassel to wide receiver
Dez Bryant before exiting in the third quarter of a 28–7 win against the
Dallas Cowboys due to an injury. He subsequently missed the last three games of the season (Weeks 15–17) due to a head injury. He finished the
2015 NFL season with a total of 39 combined tackles (37 solo), 13 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 12 games and 12 starts.
2016 Sam Shields returned as a starting cornerback alongside Damarious Randall after the departure of Casey Hayward. On September 11, 2016, Shields started in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the
Jacksonville Jaguars and made three solo tackles before exiting in the third quarter of a 27–23 victory after suffering a
concussion while making a tackle on running back
T. J. Yeldon. This marked his fourth known concussion in his NFL career. On October 18, 2016, the Green Bay Packers officially placed him on
injured reserve after missing four games. He remained on injured reserve for the entire
2015 NFL season and did not return to the Green Bay Packers.
2017 On February 8, 2017, Shields was released by the Packers after seven seasons with the team.
Los Angeles Rams 2018 On March 8, 2018, the
Los Angeles Rams signed Shields to a one–year, $1.00 million contract after he missed the
2017 NFL season while recovering from concussions. Throughout training camp, he competed to be a backup cornerback against
Troy Hill and
Nickell Robey-Coleman. Head coach
Sean McVay named him the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starters
Aqib Talib and
Marcus Peters. On September 16, 2018, Shields made one solo tackle, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by
Sam Bradford to
Chad Williams as the Rams routed the
Arizona Cardinals 34–0. In Week 11, he collected a season-high six solo tackles during a 54–51 victory against the
Kansas City Chiefs. In his first season with the Rams, Shields recorded 22 combined tackles (18 solo), four pass deflections, and one interception in 16 games and two starts. Shields mainly played on special teams throughout the season. In the
NFC Championship Game against the
New Orleans Saints with the Rams down 13–0 early in the second quarter, the Rams performed a fake punt and Shields caught the ball from
Johnny Hekker for 12 yards to help the Rams get their first score of the game. The Rams went on to win in overtime 26–23 to advance to
Super Bowl LIII where they lost 13–3 to the
New England Patriots. ==NFL career statistics==