Giants give Sterling Shepard another opportunity with new one-year contract: report

The New York Giants are giving wide receiver Sterling Shepard another opportunity, as ESPN reports a one-year deal being agreed upon on Sunday. 

Shepard’s career has been mired with injuries since he was taken in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. Last season, it was an ACL tear in his left knee in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys. 

It was truly a freak injury, as Shepard was simply jogging down the field on the MetLife Stadium turf when he went down with his injury and knew it was serious. 

In the previous season, Shepard tore his Achilles, and he has also had to deal with concussions, ankle, quad, hamstring and other knee injuries in his seven years in the NFL. 

Shepard, 30, has been through a lot, but he said he would be returning next season to the NFL no matter where he might land. 

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New York wanted him back, and his recovery timeline from his ACL injury expects him to be ready for training camp. 

“Of course, this is like my second home,” Shepard said, via ESPN. “This is where I’ve always been and what I know. So, I think anybody in my position would want to do that, but like I said, whatever happens, man.”

Shepard has also become a veteran leader for head coach Brian Daboll’s group. He was always seen on the sideline for gamedays after his injury, as he made it a point to travel with the team and continue to help in any way he could with the young receiving corps the Giants had to deploy. 

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When he was on the field last season, Shepard caught 13 passes from Daniel Jones for 154 yards and one touchdown. 

Shepard has 4,038 yards on 362 receptions with 22 touchdowns in his career. He is still a versatile receiver when healthy, having the ability to work on the outside as well as the slot with effectiveness. 

The Giants do need more wide receiver help despite Shepard’s re-signing. Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and Richie James did well to step in during the team’s playoff run last season, but New York is hoping to find a No. 1-type guy for Jones, who has been inked for the next four seasons at $160 million.