Sterling Shepard injury: Shepard lost for the season with a torn ACL

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll announced today that veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard has been lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL in the closing seconds of last night’s game.

“He’s a tremendous person,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Shepard. “He worked so diligently to get back, and (I) feel terrible for him that he had that injury. He’s a big part of our team, and we’ll miss him out on the field.”

Shepard collapsed on the final play of Monday night’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. His left knee apparently gave out on him as he was jogging following the game-ending interception. He quickly grabbed the leg in pain and needed to be carted off the field.

“It’s definitely a gut-punch,” said running back Saquon Barkley said of Shepard’s injury after the game. “One of my best friends, if not my best friend. It sucks to see him go down, but at the end of the day he knows we all have his back.”

Shepard his the longest-tenured Giant, and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft and is the only player from the Jerry Reese era still on the team. He has been one of the Giants’ best and most consistent receivers when healthy, and had gotten off to a great start in his come-back season. He was the Giants’ leading receiver with 13 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.

Shepard’s injury is the latest in a run of bad injury luck for the veteran receiver. He suffered multiple concussions in 2019 and had a pair of hamstring strains, a quad strain, and a ruptured Achilles tendon (all in his right leg) over the course of the 2021 season.

Daboll said the Giants are “always looking” for outside upgrades. He said Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring) are “getting closer,” but their status for Sunday is unknown.