Sterling Shepard vows to do whatever it takes to be ready for Giants season
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard speaks to the media at training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Center, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in East Rutherford. Credit: Corey Sipkin
For Sterling Shepard, the goal is clear: “To be ready for the season.”
That is no small feat, given Shepard’s recent history.
His last two seasons were marred by serious injury, a torn Achilles in the 2021 season, a torn ACL in 2022.
In his eighth season, the longest-tenured Giant is looking for some luck. He’s 30 now and perhaps getting back on the field at all will be his biggest achievement. He has not fully participated in the spring sessions.
“Whatever it takes is what I’m going to try to do, but I’m also not going to rush it,” Shepard said. “You get to [the start of the season] and I’m not feeling right, then that’s just what it’s going to be. But that is my goal and just take it day-by-day like I said and try to be the best I can be that day.”
Shepard knows the receivers’ room is stocked with talent.
“I love the fact that we added more playmakers,” he said. “It’s not just on one person to make all the plays. We've got a lot of guys that can do it.”
Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Giants coach Bill Parcells watched practice and spent time talking to coach Brian Daboll, general manager Joe Schoen and other members of the organization. Parcells and Schoen worked together with the Miami Dolphins from 2008-10.
Michael Strahan, another Hall of Famer, also attended Tuesday’s minicamp.
Parcells addressed the team after their workout.
“[He talked] about accountability,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “Talking about what makes a team great and what tests a team in a season and staying close, staying together, taking accountability for your role on the team. I think it was a great message.”
Parcells coached the Giants from 1983-90 and led them to victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV. He later coached the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys. Parcells was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
