Coach Brian Daboll said Tuesday that wide receiver Sterling Shepard suffered an ACL tear during Monday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Shepard was taken off the field by a cart after collapsing during the Giants’ final offensive play. He suffered an injury in the waning seconds of a home game versus Dallas for the second consecutive year. In December of last year, he tore his Achilles tendon. Shepard put in a lot of effort over the course of eight months to get back on the field for the season opener, and his 65-yard reception in Tennessee gave the Giants their first touchdown of the year.
When questioned about the seasoned receiver after the game, Daboll and the Giants players were dejected. Daboll wasn’t ready to reveal Shepard’s most recent injury right away.
“It’s a tough sport,” Daboll said. “Guys work their butts off to get back from injuries, and if this is something that he’s out for the whole season – which we’ll probably know [Tuesday] morning or maybe we even know now – you hurt for those guys because they put everything into it. You watch them in the rehab room. You watch them in the offseasons. It’s just a shame.”
“It’s just real tough,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “Real tough to see that, for sure. A guy who works so hard, he’s battling back from an injury last year. I feel for him as a teammate, as a close friend and, yeah, that’s tough to see.”
Perhaps Shepard’s closest teammate is Saquon Barkley.
“Any player that gets taken off on a cart is not a good sight,” Barkley said. “Obviously, the relationship I have with Shep, it definitely hurts a little bit more. But at the end of the day, I’m his brother and I’m going to be there for him. I’ve dealt with something like that, you never know until you go in there and get an MRI. Always have high prayers whoever it is, and he knows I got his back and we (the Giants) have his back. We appreciate everything he does and energy he brings to the team.”
