Sheldon Day
American football player (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheldon Day (born July 1, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Day has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Commanders.
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Day with the Washington Commanders in 2025 | |||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | July 1, 1994 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 294 lb (133 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Warren Central (Indianapolis) | ||||||||||
| College | Notre Dame (2012–2015) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2016: 4th round, 103rd overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||
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Early life
Day attended Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 18th best defensive tackle prospect of his class.[1] On August 4, 2011, he committed to play college football at the University of Notre Dame.[2]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Day DT |
Indianapolis, Indiana | Indianapolis (IN) Warren Central | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Aug 3, 2011 | |
Recruit ratings: Scout:  Rivals:  (80) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 6 (DT), 50 (national) Rivals: 244 (national) ESPN: 14 (DT), 12 (regional), 2 (IN) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
As a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2012, Day appeared in all 13 games and had 23 tackles and two sacks. As a sophomore, he played in 11 games and made eight starts. He recorded 33 tackles and a half sack.[3][4] As an 11-game starter his junior year, Day had 40 tackles and one sack.[5][6] Following the end of the season, Day announced that he would return for his senior season, forgoing the 2015 NFL draft.[7] In his senior season, starting all 13 games, Day set a career high in tackles (45), tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (4), earning himself second-team All-American honors by the Associated Press.[8]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+5⁄8 in (1.84 m) | 293 lb (133 kg) | 32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 5.07 s | 1.69 s | 2.88 s | 4.50 s | 7.44 s | 30 in (0.76 m) | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) | 21 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[9][10] | ||||||||||||
Jacksonville Jaguars
Day was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the 2016 NFL draft.[11]
On November 18, 2017, Day was waived by the Jaguars.[12]
San Francisco 49ers
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On November 20, 2017, Day was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers.[13] Familiar to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Day was immediately a part of the defensive line rotation. He served as a reserve and played in six games, netting 12 solo tackles, four assisted tackles, and a sack.[14] Day reached Super Bowl LIV with the 49ers, but lost 31–20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Indianapolis Colts
On March 26, 2020, Day signed a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts.[15] He was placed on injured reserve on September 6.[16] Day was designated to return from injured reserve on September 30, and began practicing with the team again.[17] He was activated on October 17.[18] Day was waived by the Colts on November 17.[19]
Cleveland Browns
On December 30, 2020, Day was signed to the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns.[20] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.[21]
Day re-signed with the Browns on April 14, 2021.[22] The Browns terminated his contract on August 31.[23] Day was re-signed to the Browns' practice squad the next day.[24] Day was elevated to the Browns' active roster on October 16,[25] and reverted to the practice squad two days later. Day was signed to the Browns' active roster on November 9.
On April 18, 2022, Day re-signed with the Browns.[26] The Browns terminated his contract on August 16.[27]
Minnesota Vikings
On December 14, 2022, Day was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.[28] He was released on January 7, 2023. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the team on January 30.[citation needed] Day was released on August 29, and signed to the practice squad the next day.[29][30] He was released on November 8 and re-signed three days later.[31][32] Day was signed to the active roster on November 21.[33]
Washington Commanders
Day signed with the Washington Commanders' practice squad on August 28, 2024.[34] He was signed to the active roster on October 16.[35]
On March 17, 2025, Day re-signed with the Commanders on a one-year contract.[36] He was waived on August 26, 2025, and signed with their practice squad the following day.[37][38] On November 5, the Commanders signed Day to their active roster.[39]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2016 | JAX | 16 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | JAX | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SF | 6 | 0 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | SF | 12 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | SF | 16 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | IND | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CLE | 7 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | MIN | 6 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | WAS | 12 | 0 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | WAS | 10 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 95 | 4 | 121 | 67 | 54 | 7.0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
