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Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was midway through training camp and New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard stepped to the line of scrimmage to go one on one against summer standout Tre Hawkins III.
Shepard, the veteran coming off consecutive serious Achilles and ACL tears, shot off the line, stutter-stepped as if he were about to stop on a dime before exploding past Hawkins and into the back of the end zone, where he easily made a wide-open touchdown grab.
It was a reminder that the longest-tenured Giant still had that wiggle in those same surgically repaired legs that once produced a 41-inch vertical leap at the NFL scouting combine.
“One of Shep’s strengths is wiggle,” Hawkins said afterwards.
Back to back serious leg injuries is generally career threeatening for skill position players. Giants legend Victor Cruz is a reminder. A torn patella tendon in a knee followed by a lingering calf injury sapped his explosiveness and eventually ended his career.
The 30-year-old Shepard appears poised for a different closing chapter. He may not be a starter for the Giants to start this season, but the expectation is that Shepard plays a significant role, being used inside and outside.
“He’s looked pretty good in terms of his quickness and his explosion coming back after a couple years of injuries,” coach Brian Daboll said. “So I’m pleased with where he’s at.”
Shepard made the Giants’ 53-man roster this week, despite some questions entering the summer about whether he would ever be the same player. But he got stronger as camp progressed as he was working primarily with the second-team offense and left little doubt he was one of the team’s top receivers. And there was so much depth at the position that proven veterans such as Jamison Crowder and Cole Beasley didn’t make the cut.
Beasley landed Wednesday on the practice squad. Shepard could’ve easily been there had he not performed so well throughout the summer.
“Back to back major injuries, over 30 in the NFL, it’s the recipe for getting fired. It speaks to the level he’s capable of playing at,” fellow wide receiver Darius Slayton said. “A lot of people would be out of a job.”
The Giants had a plan for Shepard that often included a day of rest after a full padded practice. It assured that season eight would happen.
“I worked extremely hard to get back to here, but that is just one step of the process of where I wanted to get back to,” Shepard said. “Now I’m just focused on every day getting better and better. But I’m grateful to be here.”
Last season, for the second year in a row against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium, the wide receiver suffered a non-contact injury, this time it was in Week 3. He believes he actually tore the ACL in his left knee two plays earlier, and was lucky the next snap was blown dead by a penalty because it would have required him to plant and cut off his left leg.
Just days after the injury — and weeks before surgery — Shepard was already in the gym squatting to keep the strength in his legs. He had torn the Achilles in his right leg the previous year, but retirement was never an option, even if he did at least contemplate the possibility he would never quite be the same player that once caught a career-best 66 passes for 872 yards in 2018.
“Naturally does it cross your mind: ‘Am I going to be the same player?’ Yeah,” Shepard said on the Breaking Big Blue podcast. “But I have tools, or something in my head to immediately when those [thoughts] start to creep in, I tell myself, ‘You’ve been that, you’re still going to be that!’ I’m just all positive reinforcement to myself like, ‘I’m Sterling Shepard. I’ve done this before and I can get back to that!’”
Shepard didn’t flinch when asked which was the harder injury to overcome: It was the Achilles. He’s still managing that to this day. He was back on his feet in days following the ACL surgery in late-October. He was standing on the sideline a couple weeks later, cheering for his teammates. He was activated off the physically unable to perform list five days into training camp, just nine months removed from surgery.
“He looks better than I’ve ever seen him. It’s only my second year here in New York, but it’s the best I’ve ever seen him,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who has spent most of the summer throwing to Shepard with the second-team offense.
Shepard started working his way into first-team offensive snaps as the summer progressed. He played in two of the three preseason games and had one catch for six yards. The Giants even had enough confidence in him physically to return punts. It’s a role he could realistically inherit this season.
“It’s extremely impressive. He’s worked really hard to get back, and yeah, he’s been a big-time player for us these past few years when he’s been healthy,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “He’s worked hard to get back and made a lot of plays in practice and then looked good [in the preseason against the Panthers], too. So, it’s extremely impressive.”
Shepard re-signed with the Giants for the veteran minimum this offseason after taking a pay cut the previous year. He will suit up for Week 1 at MetLife Stadium against the Cowboys on Sunday, Sept. 10 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
“No. Not one thing told me I should go anywhere else,” he said. “Nah, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I love this place.”
Source: www.espn.com