Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1995)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name =

| image = Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi 2019.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Sheehy-Guiseppi in 2019

| current_team = Arlington Renegades

| number = 81

| position = Wide receiver / Return specialist

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|2|15}}

| birth_place = Orlando, Florida, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lbs = 181

| high_school = St. Francis
(Traverse City, Michigan)

| college = Phoenix College

| undraftedyear = 2017

| pastteams =

Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|2019}})*
New York Guardians ({{XFL Year|2020}})
TSL Alphas (2020)
Fan Controlled Football (2021)
TSL Linemen (2021)
Ottawa Redblacks ({{CFL Year|2021}})
Arkansas Attack (2022)*
Legnano Frogs (2024)
Arlington Renegades ({{UFL Year|2025}}–present)

| status = Active

| highlights =

Italian Football League Offensive Player of the Year (2024)

| pfr = heeDa00

}}

Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi (born February 15, 1995) is an American football wide receiver and kick returner for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Phoenix College.

Early life

After growing up in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and attending Lake Havasu High School for two years,{{Cite web |url=https://www.havasunews.com/sports/cleveland-browns-sign-havasu-s-damon-sheehy-guiseppi/article_47e0e598-5a91-11e9-94a3-e71cbd87f80a.html |title=Cleveland Browns sign Havasu's Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi |date=April 8, 2019 |website=Havasu News |access-date=May 2, 2019}} Sheehy-Guiseppi moved to Traverse City, Michigan and attended St. Francis High School.{{Cite web |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/the-improbable-story-of-how-little-known-wr-damon-sheehy-guiseppi-landed-a-tryou |title=The improbable story of how little known WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi landed a tryout and, ultimately, a contract with the Browns |last=Shook |first=Nick |date=April 11, 2019 |website=ClevelandBrowns.com |access-date=May 2, 2019}}

College career

Sheehy-Guiseppi first attended Mesa Community College, where he ran track, before transferring to Phoenix College and joining the football team. There, Sheehy-Guiseppi was named a first-team NJCAA All-American in 2016, after leading the nation in kick return yardage and touchdowns.{{Cite web |url=https://news.phoenixcollege.edu/2016/12/21/sheehy-named-njcaa-1st-team-all-american |title=Sheehy named NJCAA 1st Team All-American |date=December 21, 2016 |publisher=Phoenix College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810162903/https://news.phoenixcollege.edu/2016/12/21/sheehy-named-njcaa-1st-team-all-american |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |access-date=August 10, 2019}}{{Cite web |url=https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2019/04/09/damon-sheehy-guiseppi-scouting-report-cleveland-browns/ |title=Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi: What the Browns are getting in their new wide receiver |last=Keatley |first=Josh |date=April 9, 2019 |website=Browns Wire |publisher=USA Today |access-date=May 2, 2019}}

Professional career

=Cleveland Browns=

After being out of football for two years and not having played since 2016, Sheehy-Guiseppi was jobless and homeless, sleeping outside of a gym in Miami, Florida. After receiving a tip about the location of the Cleveland Browns free agent workout, he decided to take his chances to try out for the team, despite not receiving an invitation.{{Cite news |last=McKenna |first=Henry |url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/browns-rookie-browns-workout-lie |title=This Browns rookie had a remarkable, fib-filled journey to Cleveland |date=May 28, 2019 |work=USAToday.com |access-date=May 28, 2019}} By Sheehy-Guiseppi's own admission, he was only allowed at the workout by claiming to know Cleveland Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith, and he impressed Highsmith enough to be invited to another tryout for the Browns a week later. The Browns officially signed him on April 5, 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-sign-wr-damon-sheehy-guiseppi |title=Browns sign WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi |date=April 5, 2019 |website=ClevelandBrowns.com |access-date=May 2, 2019}} During the team's OTAs, he competed for the kick returner position with Antonio Callaway, Dontrell Hilliard and D'Ernest Johnson.{{Cite web |url=https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2019/05/22/mike-priefer-browns-return-man-antonio-callaway-dernest-johnson/ |title=Special teams coach Mike Priefer highlights 4 potential return men |last=Risdon |first=Jeff |date=May 22, 2019 |website=Browns Wire |publisher=USA Today |access-date=May 23, 2019}}

In Cleveland's first preseason game of the 2019 NFL season against the Washington Redskins, Sheehy-Guiseppi returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/us/nfl-rookie-sheehy-guiseppi-touchdown-trnd/index.html |title=A guy who talked his way into a tryout with the Browns scored an 86-yard touchdown |last=Kinder |first=Gabriel |date=August 10, 2019 |website=CNN |access-date=August 11, 2019}} On August 31, he was waived by the Browns.{{Cite web |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-cut-roster-to-53-players |title=Browns cut roster to 53 players |date=August 31, 2019 |website=ClevelandBrowns.com |access-date=March 31, 2020}}

=New York Guardians=

On November 22, 2019, Sheehy-Guiseppi was drafted by the New York Guardians in the XFL Supplemental Draft.{{Cite web |url=https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-players/full-list-of-xfl-supplemental-draft-picks-66-players-taken/ |title=Full List Of XFL Supplemental Draft Picks, 66 Players Taken |date=November 22, 2019 |website=XFL News Hub}} He was placed on injured reserve on January 8, 2020.{{Cite web |url=https://www.xfl.com/en-US/xfl-injured-reserve |title=XFL Injured Reserve |website=XFL.com |access-date=February 6, 2020}} He was waived from injured reserve on March 12, 2020.{{Cite web |url=https://www.xfl.com/xfl-transactions |title=XFL Transactions |website=XFL.com |access-date=March 17, 2020}}

=The Spring League=

Sheehy-Guiseppi was selected by the Alphas of The Spring League during its player selection draft on October 10, 2020. The spring league players received no salary and must also pay a $350 application fee. By 2019, the application fee had jumped to $2000, as players now also had to cover room and board as part of the fee; players with professional experience are exempt from this fee. Players must also cover their own health insurance. The league folded in 2021.{{cite tweet |user=TheSpringLeague |title=The Alphas #TSL2020 WR group |number=1315132416965705728 |date=October 10, 2020 |accessdate=November 3, 2020}}

=Ottawa Redblacks=

On September 12, 2021, Sheehy-Guiseppi was signed by the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks He never played in a regular season game and was released.{{Cite web |url=https://jzmedia.ca/2021/09/12/ottawa-redblacks-make-big-splash-on-sunday-following-saturdays-loss-to-lions-sign-former-nfl-receiver-terrance-williams-cfls-kenny-stafford-and-more/ |title=Ottawa Redblacks make big splash on Sunday following Saturday’s loss to Lions, sign former NFL receiver Terrance Williams, CFL’s Kenny Stafford and more|website=jzmedia.ca}}

=Major League Football=

In 2022 Sheehy-Guiseppi was signed by the Arkansas Attack from the proposed Major League Football,{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com/2022/07/13/top-15-wide-receivers-in-mlfb-major-league-football-rosters-and-analysis/|title=Top 15 Wide Receivers in MLFB: Major League Football Rosters and Analysis|website=jzmedia.ca|access-date=June 23, 2023|archive-date=April 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402080957/https://www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com/2022/07/13/top-15-wide-receivers-in-mlfb-major-league-football-rosters-and-analysis/|url-status=bot: unknown}} but the league season was cancelled during training camp.

=Legnano Frogs=

On December 17, 2023, Sheehy-Guiseppi signed with the Legnano Frogs of the Italian Football League. In March 2024, he made his long awaited debut scoring two touchdowns in a game. For the season, Sheehy-Guiseppi led the league in receptions, yards and receiving TD's and he was named the Italian Football League 2024 offensive player of the year. The Frogs lost in the league playoffs quarterfinal (wild card).{{Cite web |last=Malchow |first=Alex |date=2023-12-17 |title=IFL: Viral Ex-Cleveland Brown Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi Signs With Italy's Legano Frogs |url=https://www.americanfootballinternational.com/ifl-viral-ex-cleveland-brown-damon-sheehy-guiseppi-signs-with-italys-legano-frogs/amp/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=American Football International}}

= Arlington Renegades =

On December 4, 2024, Sheehy-Guiseppi signed with the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL).{{Cite web |title=UFL Transactions |url=https://uflboard.com/ufl-transactions/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=UFLBoard.com |language=en-US}}