Duke Shelley

The Los Angeles Rams signed defensive back Duke Shelley to its active roster on September 1, 2023.

TRANSACTIONS:

• Signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent (9/1/23)
• Waived by the Las Vegas Raiders (8/29/23)
• Waived by the Minnesota Vikings (3/23/23) and claimed by the Raiders (3/23/23)
• Signed with the Vikings (11/12/22)
• Waived by the Chicago Bears (8/31/22)
• Placed on the Bears injured reserve list (11/23/21)
• Drafted by the Bears in the sixth round (205th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.

NFL Career:

• Has appeared in 41 regular season games (11 starts) and recorded 80 tackles (58 solo), one interception, 14 pass breakups, 12 passes defended, one pressure and one hurry.
• Has seen action in two postseason contests (one start) and notched seven tackles (five solo), two pass breakups and two passes defended.
• Played more than 380 snaps in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
• Notched a career-high 10 pass breakups in 2022 during his time with the Minnesota Vikings.
• Hauled in his first career interception and two pass breakups in Week 18 against his former team in Chicago in 2022.
• Tallied a career-high 35 tackles with the Bears in 2021.

College: Shelley started 37 games over his four-year career and tied for fourth in school history in interceptions returned for touchdowns with two. He was named Second-Team All-Big 12 by the league's coaches following his senior season (2018) and was an All-Big 12 honorable mention by coaches his junior campaign (2017) when he ranked fourth in the conference with 13 passes defended. Although his final season at Kansas State in 2018 was cut short due to injury, Shelley notched at least one pass defended in six of his seven games played. He hauled in two interceptions against Oklahoma State to tie for seventh in school history for interceptions in a game. In 2017, Shelley finished fifth on the team in tackles (56) along with 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble. He earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades after registering the second picksix of his career and three passes defended against Texas Tech. As a sophomore in 2016, he played in 11 games (10 starts) and totaled 48 tackles, three interceptions and four pass breakips. He finished seventh in the Big 12 in interceptions. In 2015, Shelley played in each of the final eight regular season games, starting each contest. He became the first Kansas State true freshman to start at cornerback since 2006 and totaled 28 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble on the year. His seven pass breakups were the most by a Wildcat freshman since 1998. His four passes defended against West Virginia were the most nationally by a freshman during the 2015 campaign and the most by a Wildcat freshman since at least 1990. 

Personal: Shelley was a three-year letterwinner at Tucker High School and helped lead the Tigers to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the state playoffs. He was ranked the 22nd-best corberback nationally by Rivals and 33rd by ESPN. He was also named one of the top 250 recruits in the class of 2015 by Rivals and was an honrable mention all-state selection by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2014. Shelley was named to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) All-Region 2-AAAAAA. He recorded two interceptions and scored three touchdowns on special teams returns as a senior in high school and also had six interceptions as a junior. He was invited to play in the Florida vs. Georgia High School All-Star Game. Shelley majored in communication studies.