Jeremiah Sirles (born August 8, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

and attended Bear Creek High School in

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

. He played in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

as a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Sirles played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Bear Creek High School Bears. He was named to the Rocky Mountain News' All-Colorado squad his junior and senior years. He also earned first-team All-Colorado and all-conference honors as a junior, helping his team reach the state quarterfinals. As a sophomore, Sirles helped Bear Creek reach the state quarterfinals, garnering first-team All-South Metro League and second-team all-state honors. He also participated in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

at Bear Creek, helping his basketball team to the state tournament in his senior year.

College career

Sirles played for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

from 2010 to 2013. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2009. He played in 53 games, starting 41 for the Cornhuskers. He was the 2013 recipient of the Cornhuskers' Guy Chamberlin Award. Sirles also earned honorable mention All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors as a senior and second-team All-Big Ten as a junior, along with Academic All-Big Ten honors his senior year.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Sirles signed with the San Diego Chargers on May 10, 2014 after going undrafted in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was signed to the Chargers' practice squad on August 31, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2014. Sirles made his NFL debut on December 20, 2014 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

filling in as guard for an injured Johnnie Troutman. He made his first career start at right guard on December 28, 2014 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Minnesota Vikings

Sirles was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on September 5, 2015 for a sixth-round pick in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

2016 season

In the 22-10 upset at

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

in Week 3, Sirles played the final 39 minutes at left guard when

Alex Boone Alexander Boone (born May 4, 1987) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He has also spent time wit ...

went down because of a hip injury. The following week, Sirles stepped in at right tackle after Andre Smith went down with an elbow injury with eight minutes left in the first quarter. With Sirles on the field for the final 52 minutes, the Vikings scored 24 points, did not give up a sack, surpassed 100 yards rushing and scored their first two rushing touchdowns of the season. A week later, Sirles made his first start at right tackle in the Vikings' 31-13 win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. He was the highest graded Viking offensive lineman in the game according to Pro Football Focus.

2017 season

In 2017, Sirles played in 14 games as a backup guard and center, where he started four games in place of injured starters Nick Easton and

Pat Elflein Patrick Elflein (born July 6, 1994) is an American football center for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he won the Rimington Trophy as a senior in 2016. Elflein was draf ...

Carolina Panthers

On March 23, 2018, Sirles signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, reuniting with former

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2018. He was released on September 6, 2018.

Buffalo Bills

On September 25, 2018, Sirles was signed by the

. On January 16, 2019, Sirles signed a one-year contract extension with the Bills. He was placed on injured reserve on July 23, 2019 with a foot injury. He was released on July 31, 2019.

Retirement

Sirles announced his retirement on March 2, 2020.

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirles, Jeremiah Living people 1991 births Players of American football from Colorado People from Lakewood, Colorado Sportspeople from Jefferson County, Colorado American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Nebraska Cornhuskers football players San Diego Chargers players Minnesota Vikings players Carolina Panthers players Buffalo Bills players