The New York Giants have a Sunday matchup with the Buffalo Bills that will determine whether the team starts the season 0-2 or 1-1, but despite the importance of the game, it’s quite possible that the team won’t have all their key players going into it.
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday, and he wasn’t the only receiver to miss time on the practice field. Rookie Darius Slayton was also missing, and Slayton has yet to play an NFL game, missing the season opener against the Cowboys after having the bad luck to pick an injury up in his first practice with the team that drafted him.
The Giants have been thin at receiver even before Shepard was taken out of action by a concussion in the week one loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Golden Tate was, of course, already suspended for that game thanks to a four game suspension for violating the league’s substance policy, which leaves Shepard as the team’s main weapon at the position.
It’s unknown if Shepard will be able to return before the team’s game with the Bills, and the Giants have brought back T.J. Jones to help man the receiver position while Shepard is gone. But receiver isn’t the only place where the team has injuries.
Kevin Zeitler suffered a shoulder injury against the Cowboys and the new offensive guard was limited in practice thanks to it – the Giants are going to need Zeitler to achieve their plans this season, which makes it especially concerning that Zeitler wasn’t able to go one hundred percent on Wednesday even if he did participate in some of the practice. It would, after all, be a big blow for a new and important player to miss time after only one game.
Some injuries are carrying over from training camp – Markus Golden was also limited, while Kareem Martin was placed on IR after a knee injury that was picked up against the Cowboys. Will these players be back in time for the team’s game with the Bills? We’ll see, but to avoid going 0-2, the team could definitely use all the help and talent it can get.