Sterling Shepard day to day after Wednesday’s ‘little ankle sprain’
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard, shown here in camp on July 29, says he will be back at least by Week 1 of the regular season. Credit: Brad Penner
Sterling Shepard said the scary injury he suffered Wednesday looked and felt far worse than it actually was.
On Friday, following an MRI, the wide receiver described it as “a little ankle sprain” and a “little bone bruise” that leaves him day to day for a return to the field. Shepard said he feels well enough to begin jogging if the trainers would let him and though he had no specific timetable for a return, he made it clear that the injury will not interfere with the season.
“I’ll be ready by Week 1 for sure,” he said of the Sept. 10 opener against Dallas.
Shepard said he turned the ankle 90 degrees when he planted while running a route and the grass under his foot gave way a bit. He said he heard a pop and felt a lot of pain and immediately feared the worst as he was carted off the field.
“I had never really rolled my ankle like that before,” he said. “I didn’t think it was going to be too good . . . I was screaming, but that’s because I had never felt that pain before.”
The MRI and X-rays helped assuage those fears.
“Everything is pretty clean,” Shepard said of the tests, “so it’s all good.”
Eli makes the call
Eli Manning and a handful of other veteran players were bystanders during Friday’s light walk-through practice that lasted a little more than an hour, but instead of simply observing in his baseball cap, Manning grabbed a walkie-talkie and started calling the plays like an offensive coordinator.
“We wanted to give him a chance to stay dialed in and get those mental reps,” Ben McAdoo said of Manning’s duties. “Eli, he got to use a little empathy today and see how challenging that really is.”
Brandon Marshall, Damon Harrison, Jonathan Casillas, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Janoris Jenkins and John Jerry were other veterans given the day off after three straight days in pads and before Saturday’s full practice that McAdoo said will be the most strenuous of camp.
“It’s what’s best for them physically at this point,” McAdoo said of the day of rest. “It’s not what we’d like to do, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Giant steps
There is no timetable for WR Tavarres King’s return from Thursday’s rolled ankle, McAdoo said . . . RB Shane Vereen, CB Valentino Blake and DE Devin Taylor both returned to team drills after missing three days with injuries . . . Rookie QB Davis Webb said he is ready to play in the first preseason game next Friday if he gets the call. “Those aren’t my calls,” Webb said. “It’s up to coach McAdoo.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
