Will Shields
Born: Fort Riley, Kan.

Graduated: Lawton (Okla.) H.S., 1988 / University of Nebraska, 1993

For 14 NFL seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs knew they could count on Will Shields every week.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman played in 224 consecutive regular-season games,
including 223 consecutive starts at right guard.

“To me, that was the biggest piece; being accountable to the guys you were playing with,” Shields
was quoted as saying on the Pro Football Hall of Fame website. “You wanted to perform at a high
level, and (by playing in every game) you got a chance to do that.”

Shields was born Sept. 15, 1971, in Fort Riley, Kan. At a young age, Shields and his family moved to
Lawton, Okla. As a junior in 1987, he helped Lawton High School capture an Oklahoma Class 5A
state championship.

Following high school, Shields joined the University of Nebraska and helped the Cornhuskers to
consecutive Big 8 titles and Orange Bowl appearances in 1991 and 1992. In the latter season,
Shields was a consensus first-team All-American and winner of the Outland Trophy for college
football’s best interior lineman.

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Shields in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He was called into
action in his first NFL game after left guard Dave Szott suffered an injury. The next week, the Chiefs
shuffled the offensive line and started Shields at right guard.

It was the start of a prolific career that included 12 straight Pro Bowl appearances and seven All-
Pro honors, including three as a first-teamer. An anchor on the offensive line, Shields helped the

Chiefs lead the NFL in points scored in 2002 and 2003 and yards gained in 2004 and 2005.
He also was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2003 for his outstanding work in the
community and his “Will to Succeed” Foundation.

When Shields retired from the NFL after the 2006 season, he held the Chiefs’ franchise records for
games played and starts, and never missed a game.

He is on a short list of the greatest offensive guards at the college and professional levels.

Shields was named to the Walter Camp Foundation College Football All-Century Team in 1999 and was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.