Joshua Matthew Sills (born January 26, 1998) is an American football offensive guard for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia and Oklahoma State.

Josh Sills
No. 65 – Indianapolis Colts
Position:Offensive guard
Personal information
Born: (1998-01-26) January 26, 1998 (age 26)
Sarahsville, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:325 lb (147 kg)
Career information
High school:Meadowbrook (OH)
College:West Virginia (2016–2019)
Oklahoma State (2020–2021)
Undrafted:2022
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:18
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and college career edit

Sills was born on January 26, 1998, and grew up in Sarahsville, Ohio. He attended Meadowbrook High School in Byesville, and was a two-year starter. He committed to West Virginia University, and spent his first year as a redshirt.[1]

As a freshman in 2017, Sills played in 13 games and was a starter in 10, five of those at left guard and the other five at right guard. He appeared on 681 snaps and led the team with 13 knockdown blocks. Sills started 12 games in 2018, seeing action on 970 plays and being named second-team All-Big 12 Conference at the end of the season. He started two games in 2019 but missed the rest of the season.[1]

Sills transferred to Oklahoma State University for the 2020 season.[2][3] He started all 11 games that year and was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference pick.[1] He announced he would return to the team for his senior year in January 2021.[4] As a senior, he was voted team captain and led the Oklahoma State in both knockdown blocks with 41 and pancake blocks with 21, earning a first-team All-Big 12 selection for the second consecutive year. He also received several votes for Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, but did not win the award.[1]

Professional career edit

Pre-draft measurables
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 5+58 in
(1.97 m)
322 lb
(146 kg)
33+78 in
(0.86 m)
10 in
(0.25 m)
5.25 s 1.84 s 2.96 s 4.52 s 7.52 s 25.0 in
(0.64 m)
8 ft 6 in
(2.59 m)
18 reps
All values from Pro Day[5]

Philadelphia Eagles edit

Sills declared for the NFL Draft on January 5, 2022.[6] He went unselected in the draft, but was later signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent.[7] He was one of three 2022 undrafted players to make the Eagles' final roster, along with Reed Blankenship and Josh Jobe.[8] Sills played in only one game as a rookie, appearing on several special teams snaps in week five against the Arizona Cardinals.[9]

Sills was placed on the commissioner's exempt list on February 1, 2023, shortly before the Super Bowl, after his indictment for rape and kidnapping charges.[10] He was activated from the commissioner's exempt list after he was found not guilty of those charges.[11] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 29, 2023.[12]

Indianapolis Colts edit

After being waived by the Eagles, Sills was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts.[13]

Personal life edit

Sills' parents, John and Kim, have traveled to every one of his football games since he was nine years old (with the exception of one), racking up over 232,000 miles (373,000 km) on their 2013 Nissan Altima.[14]

On January 31, 2023, Sills was indicted by a grand jury in Guernsey County, Ohio on rape and kidnapping charges stemming from allegations that he forcibly restrained and raped a woman in December 2019.[15][16] On August 4, he was acquitted of all charges, and removed from the commissioner's exempt list.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Josh Sills". Oklahoma State Cowboys. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Hickey, Alex (December 31, 2019). "Former WVU offensive lineman Josh Sills transfers to Oklahoma State". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Hunter, Greg (January 1, 2020). "WVU lineman Sills to transfer to Oklahoma State". West Virginia News. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Elmquist, Jason (January 8, 2021). "OSU's Sills to return". Enid News & Eagle. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Josh Sills, Oklahoma State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Lederman, Eli (January 5, 2022). "OSU left guard Josh Sills declares for NFL Draft". Tulsa World. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Josh Sills signed with Philadelphia Eagles as an underdraft[sic] free agent". Darik.news. April 30, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Kempski, Jimmy (August 30, 2022). "Analysis of the Eagles' initial 2022 53-man roster". PhillyVoice. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Josh Sills Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  10. ^ "Eagles' Josh Sills: Goes on commissioner's exempt list". CBS Sports. RotoWire. February 1, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "Eagles say Josh Sills will return to active roster after OL found not guilty of rape and kidnapping". Yahoo.com. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Spadaro, Dave; McPherson, Chris (August 29, 2023). "Eagles announce initial 53-man roster". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  13. ^ Arthur, Jake (August 30, 2023). "Colts Claim Three Players Off Waivers, Including Two O-Linemen". Sports Illustrated.
  14. ^ Unruh, Jacob (December 2, 2021). "'Wouldn't miss it for the world': Being there shows love of parents for Oklahoma State lineman Josh Sills". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Rushing, Ellie (February 1, 2023). "Eagles offensive guard Joshua Sills accused of rape and kidnapping". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "Eagles offensive guard Josh Sills indicted on rape, kidnapping charges in Ohio". WPVI-TV. February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Walsh, Erin (August 4, 2023). "Eagles' Josh Sills Found Not Guilty of Rape, Kidnapping Charges". Bleacher Report.

Further reading edit

External links edit