Sharif Jarel Gregory Wayne Finch (born October 1, 1995) is an

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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

for

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, where he played 53 career games, which is tied for the most career games in Temple football history. He signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

following the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. He has also played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, and

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

Early life

Finch was born to Wendy and Gregory Finch on October 1, 1995, in the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough of New York City. He played linebacker at

Henrico High School Henrico High School is a public high school located in Henrico County, Virginia and operated by the Henrico County Public Schools. It has two specialty centers — the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years/ Diploma Program and the Center f ...

. During his junior season in 2011, Finch led the team with 161 tackles and 10.5 sacks. During his senior season in 2012, Finch once again led the team with 123 tackles and 7 sacks. Finch received eight scholarship offers to play college football. His top three candidate were Temple,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, and

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

. Impressed with Temple's facilities and academics, Finch officially committed to play for coach

Matt Rhule Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...

and the Owls in February 2013.

College career

In 2013, Finch played 11 games and started twice as a true freshman for the Temple Owls. In the season finale, he batted down a pass on 3rd down forcing

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

to punt and then blocked the punt on the following play which Temple recovered in the endzone for a Touchdown. In the 2014 season, Finch moved to

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and played in all 13 games and started in 11 games. In the first defensive play of the first home game against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, he forced a fumble that he recovered in the endzone for a touchdown. In the next game against

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

, Finch recorded his first career

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, where he returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. In 2015, Finch's production declined as the team went with a defensive end rotation strategy. He played in 12 games, and missed one game to nurse a knee injury. In the season opening game at

, he recorded a 26-yard interception return to set up Temple's game-winning score. Finch finished tied for second in the nation in blocked kicks. In 2016, knee injuries limited Finch to just four games. He was granted a medical redshirt exception, allowing him to play in the 2017 season. In the 2017 season, Finch played in all 13 games with 12 starts. He recorded 55 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. His team-leading 8.5 sacks were a single-season career high. He was named to the Second Team All-American Athletic Conference and ECAC First Team All-East. On March 19, 2018, Finch participated in the Temple ProDay, an event where Temple football players demonstrate their skills to an audience of NFL scouts and coaches. Twenty-two NFL teams attended this event.

College statistics

Professional career

Finch was not selected in the

. Despite a body size prototypical for NFL outside linebackers, scouting reports indicated Finch lacked strength and technique needed at the professional level. However, the reports state it lacked enough research on Finch due to his 2016 injury. Scouting reports also considered Finch to be a good teammate and a humble leader.

Tennessee Titans

Finch signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018. The free agent offer by the Titans to Finch was the highest among the 22 undrafted free agents signed that season. On September 1, 2018, Finch secured his place on the Titans' 53-man roster for the 2018 season, after a strong preseason. He recorded his first career tackle on September 23, 2018, in a 9-6 Titans victory on the road against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. On September 30, 2018, Finch recorded his first career sack in a 26-23 overtime victory against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. Finch finished his rookie year with 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback pressures, two stops for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and seven special teams stops. Finch was waived by the Titans on December 21, 2019, after being inactive for the majority of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 23, 2019, Finch was claimed off waivers by the

, but was waived the next day after failing his physical.

Las Vegas Raiders

Finch was signed by the

on August 25, 2020. The Raiders waived him on September 1, 2020.

Chicago Bears

On September 29, 2020, Finch was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released on October 23, 2020.

New York Jets

On November 3, 2020, Finch was signed to the

' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 19 and December 26 for the team's weeks 15 and 16 games against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on January 2, 2021. He was waived on June 1, 2021.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On September 28, 2021, Finch was signed to the

practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on October 1, 2021. He was waived on October 9.

New Orleans Saints

On November 29, 2021, Finch was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 11, 2022. He was placed on injured reserve on May 18, 2022. He was released on June 2, 2022.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Finch is the youngest of 22 siblings and enjoys playing the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. His mother, Wendy, died of breast cancer on May 28, 2015. His father, Gregory, died of a heart attack on July 30, 2018, while Finch was participating in his rookie training camp. His father's death occurred just 10 days before Finch's first professional preseason game. Since Gregory's death was sudden and heartbreaking, Finch mustered up the courage to comfort his family by playing the piano at his father's funeral. On August 9, 2018, during the third quarter of this preseason game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Finch recorded his first sack. Immediately after the sack, he pointed to the sky with two fingers as a tribute to both of his parents. He wears a set of dog tags with their names and photo and an inscription that reads "everything is for you".

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bioTemple Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Sharif 1995 births Living people People from Henrico County, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football linebackers Henrico High School alumni Temple Owls football players Tennessee Titans players Cincinnati Bengals players Las Vegas Raiders players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players