Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard returned to practice just two weeks ago after recovering from a torn Achilles, but he’s reportedly saying he’s ready to play Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
"Ready to go," Shepard told ESPN.
If Shepard does indeed play, it would be nothing short of miraculous after taking less than nine months to recover from an injury that has sidelined athletes of various sports for more than a year. But as his teammate, Saquon Barkley, has proven in the past, all athletes heal differently.
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Shepard’s injury came late in the season last year against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. Shepard had battled injuries prior to the Achilles injury, including a hamstring strain that lingered since the beginning of the year.
Because of how late Shepard sustained the injury, beginning the year on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list was one of the options on the table, which would have forced Shepard to miss the first four games of the year.
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The Giants never made that designation, and Shepard has had positive practices since returning to the field. Still, Shepard's presence in Nashville in Week 1, at least on the field, was still in question.
It only bodes well for the Giants that Shepard is available to start the season. He has the most chemistry with quarterback Daniel Jones on the roster, being there since 2019 when the Giants took the Duke product sixth overall to be their quarterback of the future. And while Shepard did have only 366 receiving yards in 2021, he did score a touchdown, which Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney can’t say they did.
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Wan’Dale Robinson, a rookie out of Kentucky, is expected to be an impactful player, and he primarily runs out of the slot, which is where Shepard thrives. It will be interesting to see how head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka deploy these receivers, granted they stay healthy, all season.
Shepard also enters a crucial year with the Giants, as his contract was restructured with this new regime led by GM Joe Schoen. With his injury, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the Giants decided to cut ties with him.
Shepard’s influence goes far beyond the field, as he’s one of the longest-tenured Giants in the building and a leader in the locker room. But his influence doesn’t appear to be sidelined to start the year, which will give the Giants depth at a position that needs to bounce back in 2022.
