Brian Daboll happy for Sterling Shepard after return, first catch since ACL tear

Giants receiver Sterling Shepard was only on the field briefly in Friday’s preseason contest against the Panthers, but it marked a big moment. Seeing his first game action in nearly a year after suffering an ACL tear this past September, Shepard hauled in a six-yard reception from Tyrod Taylor late in the second quarter.

Although it ended up being the only catch of the game for Shepard, it was a welcome sight to see given his struggles with injuries over the past couple of seasons. Coach Brian Daboll spoke on what it meant not only to Shepard, but the whole team.

“It’s good when you are coming back from that, you know, the history that he’s had the last couple of years. It was good for him,” Daboll said according to NFL.com. “But he’s such a good teammate and such a competitor. I’m always checking with him, how’s he doing on the sideline, are you good to go and he’s competitive as always.”

Shepard has played a total of just 10 games over the past two seasons. He missed several games in 2021 due to a hamstring injury before suffering a torn Achilles in Week 15 that ended his season. He somehow managed to return for Week 1 of the following year but tore his ACL just three games into the season.

Injuries have plagued Shepard throughout his career, as he has managed just two full seasons in his seven years in the NFL. Still, he’s proven effective when on the field. In his first five NFL seasons, Shepard averaged just over 700 yards receiving. He appeared in 12 contests during the 2020 season to record 66 catches for 656 yards and three TDs.

He’s been a regular contributor for the Giants ever since they drafted him in the second round out of Oklahoma in 2016. Now hoping to put his injury struggles behind him and stay healthy in 2023, he’ll aim to continue to be a key part of the offense.

“You have such empathy for the players in this game because there’s always nicks and bruises, but then there’s injuries and some of them are bad,” Daboll said. “Some of them have long recovering injuries and you don’t really get to see behind the scenes of the work ethic that they put in, the grind, how hard it is to come back from one of those and then another one and you’re out there by yourself, you meet with the trainers and you’re kind of away from the team and then you come back and you start slowly integrating.”

The Giants are coming off of a 9-7-1 finish and playoff appearance this past season, but ranked near the bottom of the league in passing offense. With Shepard back, however, they’ll aim to improve those numbers and make another postseason push.

Shepard’s next chance to see the field will come in New York’s final preseason game against the Jets on Aug. 26. After that, he’ll gear up for the regular season opener on Sept. 10 against the Dallas Cowboys.