The New York Giants offense got a little healthier this week when the team activated receiver Sterling Shephard off the physically unable to perform list Wednesday.
Shephard had been recovering from an Achilles tear he suffered in Week 15 of this past season before the team placed him on the PUP list on July 26. If the Giants hadn’t taken him off the list before they trimmed the roster down to 53 players on August 30, Shephard would have been forced to miss the first four games of the season.
New head coach Brian Daboll said they won’t rush the veteran wideout back into action but he will at least be back at practice.
“It will be good to have him out there,” Daboll said, according to team reporter Dan Salomone.
Shephard, 29, heads into his seventh season with the Giants. He played just seven games in 2021 with 36 receptions, 366 yards and one touchdown.
He’ll rejoin a potentially talented but oft-injured skill position group that also includes receivers Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney as well as running back Saquon Barkley. Neither Golladay nor Toney played a full season in 2021 and both failed to score a touchdown either. Barkley had another down season in 2021 where he missed four games and only scored two rushing touchdowns.
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Daboll believes Shephard is the type of player who could see action all over the field after he played a lot of his time in slot role for previous coaching regimes.
“He can do a wide variety of things,” Daboll said. “He has the ability to create separation.”
