Watch Sterling Shepard receive emotional goodbye from NY Giants coaches and players

The veteran receiver moved up to No. 5 on the all-time Giants receptions list

Logan VanDine

Philadelphia Eagles v New York Giants / Cooper Neill/GettyImages

It was not the year the New York Giants envisioned, but the G-Men gave their fans something to cheer about on Sunday with a season-finale win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Tyrod Taylor, Saquon Barkley and others looked strong in this one, but a lot of attention late in the game went to veteran wideout Sterling Shepard.

Shepard, with the team since 2016, suited up for his final game with the organization and moved up to No. 5 on the all-time list in receptions, passing Jeremy Shockey. With the game in hand, both Giants players and coaches showed Shep a ton of love and it's a moment Big Blue supporters are going to remember for a while:

Sterling Shepard gets some love in his last game as a Giants player pic.twitter.com/6tMa9TAQq2
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) January 8, 2024

Sterling Shepard received an emotional sendoff in his last Giants game

Shepard has been with the Giants since '16 when New York used a second-round pick on the speedster. Shepard was barely used this season and the writing has been on the wall for him in this being his last year in East Rutherford.

In his last action for NY, Shepard caught three balls for 18 yards vs. Philly. On the season, he was limited to 10 receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. Shepard was a fan favorite for quite some time, but injuries late in his Giants career really had a negative impact on him.

In 2021, Shepard suffered a torn Achilles after appearing in seven games. Then last season, he tore his ACL in the Week 3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The feeling was general manager Joe Schoen wouldn't bring him back, but the two sides were able to agree on a one-year deal for '23.

There were a lot of emotional people in the stands during the win vs. the Eagles, as Shepard has meant so much to this team over the years. That's why everyone on the sidelines raced to give him a hug with only a few minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. This wasn't the Giants (6-11) sendoff a lot of folks expected for Shepard, but regardless, it was great to see him walk off the field one last time with a smile on his face.

Logan VanDine

I am a graduate of Rider University where I majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. At Rider, I worked for my school's paper The Rider News as a sports section writer, copy editor and one of the sports editors. Due to my heavy involvement at The Rider News, I placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundations Awards for sports feature writing. Also at Rider, I worked for their radio station 107.7 The Bronc where I was a broadcaster, and sports host and produced and edited a weekly radio show. Aside from my work at FanSided, I am also a writer for the New York Mets On Sports Illustrated site. I also previously wrote for Athlon Sports, covering the NFL and MLB.