Giants injured wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) talks to teammates...

Giants injured wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) talks to teammates during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, NJ, on Thursday, Jul 28, 2022. Credit: Brad Penner

Jerseys typically hold a special place in the hearts of players. They are often kept, framed, signed, swapped, or otherwise cherished.

Sterling Shepard had other ideas for the uniform top he’d been donning throughout the spring and most of the summer.

“We had to burn that jersey,” he said. “I don’t ever want to see it again.”

If he is lucky he won’t. On Wednesday he traded in the red shirt that designated him as an injured player as he recovered from a torn Achilles suffered in December and slipped into something a little more comfortable: a white one like the rest of the offense wore.

Shepard passed his physical on Wednesday morning, was activated off PUP, and participated in the team’s full-padded practice. He ran routes, caught passes, and sweated through sprints with his teammates for the first time since the injury that could have been career-threatening and at the very least felt as if it would end his tenure with the team. And he loved every minute of it… even as he was thrown into the fitness fire and seemed to struggle more with the cardio strains of the workout than the stress on his surgically-repaired leg.

“This is my happy place,” he said.

He meant the practice field AND the Giants. He took a significant pay cut to remain with the team and is a free agent after this season but said it was important to him to stay in New York and continue playing for the team that drafted him. He is the only player on the roster who has been with the organization since their last playoff appearance (safety Andrew Adams, signed earlier this summer as a free agent, was a rookie on that 2016 team too but has played most of his career elsewhere) and seems driven to one day leave the franchise as he found it, a postseason contender.

“I’ve been here for seven years now,” he said. “My number one focus is getting this team on the right track. It’s been a while since I’ve won games so that’s my number one goal, to get this team and this franchise back to where it’s supposed to be.”

Shepard still has some hurdles to clear before he is able to pitch in during actual game settings. He said he wasn’t sure if he would participate in Thursday’s joint practice against the Jets or even in Sunday’s preseason finale. He said he is hopeful to be ready for the regular season opener on Sept. 11 – “That’s what I’m pushing for and what I worked my tail off for,” he said – but even if he is cleared medically his role on the team seems fuzzy. The Giants are crowded at slot receiver with recent first- and second-round draft picks Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson playing the position where Shepard has often been most successful.

“I think he really can play any spot we need him to play watching him on tape,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s been productive inside. He can run stuff outside. He has an ability to create separation, which helps the quarterback. He’s a veteran that’s played some football, has a good rapport with Daniel [Jones], so it’ll be good to just throw him in the mix. I told him he’s going to have to learn a lot of spots.”

Shepard probably won’t mind. Six months and five days since he was carted off the field at MetLife Stadium, Shepard has put himself in position to play football way ahead of the timeline Achilles injuries typically take to heal.

“They told me if it was going to be the case [that I return in time for the start of the season] I would have to put in overtime and do a lot to get back,” Shepard said. “I was dedicated to the process. It was a long road, man, but it felt good to be back out there.”

About midway through Wednesday’s practice he lined up with the second team, ran a slant across the field, and caught a pass from Tyrod Taylor. The offensive players on the sideline cheered and Saquon Barkley, who knows a thing or two about coming back from serious injuries, jogged out to give Shepard a fist bump to celebrate the occasion of the first live catch of his return.

“It felt really good,” Shepard said of that gesture and other welcome-back expressions he received. “I’m going to do my best to stay out there with my guys. I love the game and I love being around them… I just want to cherish it.”

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