There’s no question whatsoever that NY Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard has meant so much to the organization over the years. Unfortunately for the veteran wideout, he’s suffered season-ending injuries in back-to-back seasons. Despite that, he’s been the biggest hype man possible for his teammates.
Looking ahead to the 2023 campaign, though, it’s completely up in the air where Shepard will be suiting up. On Wednesday morning, it was reported by Dan Duggan that the G-Men voided his contract, with NY taking on $4.3 million in dead money.
Due to his health being a major concern, this isn’t much of a surprise. With that said, just because Sterling is a free agent, that doesn’t mean his playing days in East Rutherford will for sure come to a close.
News: #Giants WR Sterling Shepard is now a free-agent and can sign with any team. His contract was voided today (@DDuggan21)
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 15, 2023
Giants are taking a $4.3M dead cap in order to part ways with Shepard, who tore his ACL on Week 3.
Shepard has 362 catches for 4,038 yards and 22 TDs. pic.twitter.com/vVt5gaJh6C
NY Giants should bring back Sterling Shepard on a one-year deal
If general manager Joe Schoen would be able to convince Shepard to return to the G-Men on the veteran’s minimum or something slightly higher, it’d be a major win for the front office. Shepard loves the Giants – the man bleeds blue. The thought of him playing for a different team doesn’t sit well with anyone in New York.
Due to his injury history, Shepard isn’t going to be able to receive a big-time contract. He hasn’t been able to play a full season since 2018. That year, he hauled in 66 balls for 872 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2021, Shepard appeared in seven games before suffering a torn Achilles. Then this past season, Shep played in three games, but he tore his ACL in the Monday Night Football loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Hearts broke everywhere at MetLife Stadium when Shepard went down and he had to be carted off the field.
Despite being out for the season, Shepard was basically the head cheerleader for Big Blue the rest of the campaign. He was spotted on the sidelines countless times firing up his teammates and celebrating a huge play, which was so incredible for the NY faithful to see. Just because of the contract update that just dropped, that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Shepard in a Giants uniform.
If Schoen and him can agree to a deal that makes sense for next season, we’d love to see him catching balls from Daniel Jones once the fall rolls around.
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