One of the things that stands out the most for the New York Giants is their lack of luck in the injuries department – a number of players have went out this season for varying lengths of time with injuries, but one of the most key ones is Sterling Shepard, who hasn’t seen the field much in his first season after signing a large new contract to make him the top receiver on the team.
In the case of Shepard the problem has been concussions instead of more traditional and common injuries, and the receiver went into concussion protocol following the team’s week two game against the Bills before making a relatively quick return afterwards. However, that return may have been too quick, as Shepard was concussed again against the Vikings, back in week five.
Shepard hasn’t showed up again on the field since then, with his recovery obviously being taken slower this time – the last thing anyone wants is a third concussion in one season for Shepard.
Fortunately for Giants fans, we might see the receiver again soon, as Shepard was listed as a full participant in practice on Thursday’s injury report. The Giants won’t play their next game until Monday, against the Dallas Cowboys, which might make this an ideal game for Shepard to make a comeback. There is, after all, an extra day to recover since the team isn’t playing on Sunday.
“I think it’ll help us. Those are all really good players,” quarterback Daniel Jones said about the chance of having the team’s full offensive talent on the field at one time. “When you put them all together there’s a lot of different things that we can do, a lot of different ways to attack. I think the guys who stepped in have played well throughout the season. But yeah, getting Shep back this week will help.”
There’s still no word on whether or not Shepard will play on Monday, but it looks like all signs point that way – and the Giants could use all the help they can get with getting back into the win column in the first game of he second half of the season.