Linebacker got call-up from practice squad for final two games of season for Oakland
Brady Sheldon might only have two NFL games under his belt, but his journey to land a spot on the Oakland Raiders active 53-man roster is a lesson in perseverance.
The 24-year-old undrafted free agent, an edge-rushing linebacker out of Novi High School and Ferris State University, made his debut in a 19-10 Christmas night loss in Philadelphia and also played special teams in a season-ending 30-10 New Year's Eve setback to the host L.A. Chargers.
"It was a dream come true, from the ups and downs of the combine process and not being signed, getting called back and getting cut after training camp ... it was the best feeling ever, such a relief," said Sheldon, who turns 25 next month. "It was just a little taste, so I'm excited to get back, working out. I know what I need to work on, I know what I need to get better."
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After Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio was let go following a 6-10 season, Sheldon knows he'll have to prove himself all over again. That's because nothing in the NFL is guaranteed. He'll have to fight for his position under a new regime.
"I'm excited," Sheldon said. "I like (coach Jon) Gruden, I like his passion. I think he's gonna to shake some things up in the organization, which is going to be good for us."
Another chance
Sheldon, who signed a two-year deal with Oakland after earning a call-up to the Raiders practice squad prior to the Week 11 game against New England, can be found during the off-season training at Total Performance in Wixom.
Under the direction of Total Performance's Jim Kielbaso, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Sheldon and a handful of several NFL hopefuls, including Ferris State teammates Tavierre Thomas, Jevonte "Book" Alexander and Brandon Walker, train weekly with the hope of just earning a spot in an NFL pro day and eventually getting a tryout.
"I actually trained Brady when he was in high school at Novi," Kielbaso said. "And when he came back, before his senior year (at Ferris), he was bigger, taller, stronger, faster ... like he had just completely, like, blossomed. It was, like, that late bloomer thing and right away your could see his explosiveness was crazy. For his size, to be able to move that smoothly and that quickly — just not a lot of people have that quality."
Sheldon was first discovered by NFL scouts during Central Michigan's pro day last spring.
"I didn't have as good of a senior season as my junior year," Sheldon said. "I knew if I just had a good combine, that maybe I'd get looked at."
Strong pro day
Sheldon weighed 228 entering the CMU combine, but caught a stomach bug and his weight dropped to 215.
"It ended up being a blessing," Sheldon said. "I ran a 4.47 (40-yard dash), jumped a 10-5 broad jump, 37-inch vertical (jump). They cut me short on bench (press) because I hit 19, but they only gave me 15. So that went really well and Jim got me super-prepared. These guys at Total are the best of the best for the combine and getting us ready."
The Raiders were the first to call, inviting Sheldon to their rookie mini-camp. He also received invites from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
"I went with the first one," Sheldon said. "I was a nickel, strong safety in college, then (the Raiders) moved me to (strong side) linebacker, which is a glorified defensive end. I weighed 230. Bruce Irvin and Shilique Calhoun are 260, 265. I felt a little underweight, but I felt I could use my speed and, basically, it was a little rough putting my hand in the dirt. Coach Ken Norton Jr. was coaching me up a lot on my stance and, by third and fourth day of mini-camp, I was getting to quarterback and I was thinking, 'Maybe this is my calling.'"
But the Raiders didn't sign Sheldon and he went back home for a month of training again at Total. Oakland then invited him back to mandatory mini-camp, where he was stationed at the same spot on defense.
Back-and-forth
"I said, 'This is it, this is my position, let me gain some weight and see if I can do it at this position,'" Sheldon said. "And obviously, special teams is where I'd be the most valuable. They didn't sign me, but it was a six-week period before training camp and I came back home. They talked to me like I was going to be in training camp and 10 days before they signed me. In training camp ... I did OK, but they saw me as a bigger value on special teams. I was there up until the last day and they cut me Sept. 2."
Sheldon returned home for 10 weeks and switched up his lifting techniques and performed Olympic-type workouts each day at 6:30 a.m. at Total.
Sheldon, who earned a small business management degree at Ferris, took a job with Precision Satellite, going door-to-door for Direct TV dish sales to help pay the bills during his 10-week hiatus.
"Jim's really good at keeping our mentality high and our attitudes up and just make sure ... just keep us level headed, basically," Sheldon said. "And that helped a lot. That allowed me to keep my head down and just kept on grinding. I trusted the process and it ended up working out."
Prior to the Oakland-Patriots game Nov. 19 in Mexico City, Sheldon was signed to the Raiders practice squad.
Making his way
"I fly in on Monday and they put me on the practice team ... the best feeling ever," Sheldon said. "They put me at inside linebacker, which is where I wanted to be, with more space behind the line where I could run. And that's my strength. I think they liked me a lot there and, in four weeks, they moved me up to active roster."
Sheldon was one of four Ferris State players to suit up in the pros this season, joining Jason Vander Laan (Indianapolis Colts), Jake Lampman (Tampa Bay Bucs practice squad) and Justin Zimmer (CFL Montreal Alouettes).
Sheldon began playing football in the fifth grade at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth before moving to the Novi Bobcats as a running back.
"In the sixth and seventh grade, I was on par with everyone else, but eighth, ninth and 10th (grade), everybody was way bigger than me," Sheldon said. "Then continuously, I kept growing, but it was never a big growth spurt, so I never grew three inches at once. It was just gradual. As a sophomore, when I was 16, I was 6-foot, 140."
Sheldon's mother Angela was athletic and his late grandfather Bob Armstrong played football at Michigan State. His three uncles were all athletic as well, one playing for the USFL's New Jersey Generals and at Penn, another at Duke, while another was an Olympic decathlete.
Prep career
At Novi, Sheldon played both football and basketball. In football, he was a 6-3, 183-pound slot-back and safety.
The only school to recruit Sheldon, who was an all-Oakland County selection his senior year under coach Todd Pennycuff, was Ferris State.
"Truthfully, he was recruited by the previous coaching staff (under Jeff Pierce) and when we got there, we thought there would be a very solid plan over time and that came into fruition," current Ferris State coach Tony Annese said. "When we first got there, we didn't view him as a for-sure guy right then, but he kept on growing, kept on working hard ... he was just a joy to coach with a great personality, always smiling, always happy and he, obviously, ended up being a big force for us."
In 2011, Sheldon received a medical red-shirt and, in 2012, he got his first taste of action for the Bulldogs, appearing in five games as a reserve and on special teams.
In 2013, he played in just two games, recording 13 tackles. After not playing in 2014, when he red-shirted again, the linebacker began to take off 2015 as Ferris captured its second straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs, as he finished with a total of 43 tackles, including 21 solo stops. He also intercepted a pass for a 51-yard pick-six touchdown in the postseason. He also recorded a total of 12 pass break-ups.
Total training
Prior to his final season (2016) at Ferris and just six credits shy of graduating, Sheldon took the spring semester off to go back and train at Total with the 2016 NFL Draft hopefuls.
He returned in the fall and the Bulldogs finished 12-3, reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs before falling to Northwest Missouri State, 35-20.
Sheldon finished the year with 54 total tackles, including 28 solo in 14 games.
"He was a guy when we took over there that was a little bit thinner, tall with not a lot of muscle mass," Annese said. "He just continued to grow and work hard and all of a sudden became one of the fastest guys on the team – 6-5, 225, and could really run around. So over time, it was, like, 'Wow, he's grown into a big old guy that can cover, close down space very effectively and tackle in open space, bring him off the edge to rush the quarterback.' He became the full package for us as time progressed."
Sheldon keeps in constant contact with his former coach,
"I talk to him all the time," Annese said. "He's one of those guys that Face Times me all the time. When we get off the phone, he always says, 'I love you, coach' and I say, 'I love you, Brady.' He's a very good young man and (I'm) very proud of him."
Sheldon brings all the intangibles, according to Kielbaso, who has trained numerous NFL players, including Livonia Clarenceville's Tim Shaw and Farmington Hills Harrison's Aaron Burbridge to name only a few.
"He's got just such a positive attitude," Kielbaso said. "He's not a different person, so he's still very humble, but he's got a little more confidence now. He realizes what he has to do so that he knows he can fit in. And you can just see he's just got a little bit more confidence, not that he was shy or anything before, but now he knows. It's interesting, he still acts like the same kid even when he was back at Novi. Just a down-to-earth guy."
Contact Brad Emons at bemons@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BradEmons1.