Giants practice report, 8/24: Sterling Shepard in, Collin Johnson may be out

The New York Giants returned to the practice field on Wednesday. They got one wide receiver back, with Sterling Shepard returning to practice. They may have lost another, with Collin Johnson carted off the field with a leg injury.

Here is some of what we saw and learned on Wednesday.

Shep’s back!

You knew that already if you read our earlier update, but this certainly is a nice sight. Sterling Shepard told media on Wednesday that he was back in his “happy place.”

“We’ll kind of ramp him up,” said head coach Brian Daboll. “We’ll ramp him up just like we did when the other guys come back. But he’s done a good job in his rehab, and it’ll be good to have him out there.”

Injury news

You’ve got to be kidding me with this? Collin Johnson? Really? Johnson has had a terrific summer.

Kadarius Toney tried to practice on Wednesday, but seems to be having ongoing issues with his right leg.

Who practiced, and who did not:

Daboll said placekicker Graham Gano (concussion) was “making progress” and might be able to kick Sunday against the New York Jets.

Tight end help on the way?

Tanner Hudson is a fourth-year player. In two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one with the San Francisco 49ers, he has played in 22 games with five receptions.

Practice notes

Conditioning work was on the menu Wednesday.

‘The games matter the most’

Here is Daboll talking about some of the uneven practices Daniel Jones has had vs. his solid performances in the two preseason games.

“The games matter the most. Again, we’re trying to script and do a lot of different things in practice. Again, you’d like to have a perfect practice every time you step out there. But the great thing about practice is it doesn’t count. It counts if you learn from it. And he’s done a good job of getting a lot of different looks, going back in the meeting rooms, talking with the receivers, talking with the coaches, talking with (Mike) Kafka, talking about the protections. That’s why you practice. You try to make practice harder than it is in a game as a coaching staff, the best you can – whether it’s situations, different looks, blitzes, same thing with motions and shifts. You kind of map things out to try to put pressure on as many players and coaches as you can. And that’s what we try to do ... I think he’s done a good job of learning from it and then applying it in games.”