Sterling Shepard’s return is even bigger with Kadarius Toney still struggling to practice
This really is the definition of good news, bad news for the NY Giants. On one hand, the major update from Wednesday was that star wide receiver Sterling Shepard has been activated off the PUP list. With that, Shepard was back at practice looking like his old self. Obviously, this is massive for the G-Men and head coach Brian Daboll.
On the other side of things, however, second-year wideout Kadarius Toney has been sidelined for a little bit himself – working his way back to full health. It feels like Toney is still quite a ways away from getting to 100 percent, as insider Jordan Raanan shared a clip of Toney trying to go through drills and you can see just how uncomfortable he looks.
Kadarius Toney trying to practice but his right leg/hamstring (?) just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. He’s still on the field attempting to play through it. #giants pic.twitter.com/wAtaydOvt2
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 24, 2022
Sterling Shepard is back for the NY Giants and that’s huge for Daniel Jones
It sucks to see Toney run a route like that, as you can tell he’s getting quite frustrated with things. There’s still a lot of time left before Sept. 11, though, so hopefully this can get fixed as soon as possible and he can put the pads on for the Titans matchup.
Meanwhile with Shepard, his return to the gridiron couldn’t have arrived at a better time. There’s been question marks about his status all summer, but now that he’s back at practice, he’s focused on turning heads. Fortunately for Giants fans, Shepard is already making an impact and his presence is being felt in a big way.
Sterling Shepard already getting reps in live drills in his first practice back from torn Achilles. Catches 20-yard pass from Tyrod Taylor. #giants
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 24, 2022
It’s unknown if Shepard will be ready to rock for the preseason finale vs. the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but it’d certainly be great to see him out there for some live action against a different defense. At the same time, Daboll isn’t going to want to rush the speedster back before he’s fully ready.
Keep in mind that Shepard tore his Achilles just eight months ago and the recovery from such a serious injury can be quite tricky. Having said that, the fact that he’s at practice and balling out already is truly great to see.
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Daniel Jones is most definitely going to be depending on him quite a bit this year to come up big for him. With Toney, keep your fingers crossed his injury doesn’t continue to give him issues. He’ll be needed just as much as Shepard this campaign.