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Giants WR Sterling Shepard Reveals What Happened on His ACL Injury

The Giants' longest tenured receiver vows to go out on his own terms.

Patricia Traina

Giants WR Sterling Shepard Reveals What Happened on His ACL Injury
Giants WR Sterling Shepard Reveals What Happened on His ACL Injury /
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Although he's done for the year after tearing his ACL three games into his comeback from an Achilles injury, New York Giants receiver Sterling Shepard isn't about to fade quietly into the night.

"I’m a fighter, so I want to go out on my terms," Shepard said in his first public comments since suffering his injury on the Giants' final play against the Dallas Cowboys in a Week 3 Monday night game. 

"I don’t want something like this to make me go out. So, I’m going to fight to get my body back to where I can perform and get this thing good."

Shepard, who is in the final year of a contract that was amended in the off-season, is the longest-tenured member of the team. Although he can't physically help the team on the field, he revealed he's doing what he can behind the scenes to be part of the program.

"Just because I’m going down doesn’t mean I need to have a cloud over my head and bring everybody else down. I think it’s big for me, being one of the veteran guys in this locker room, to help the guys in any way I can – whether that’s helping them with route technique or just to hype them up," he said.

To prove that point, Shepard was seen on the Giants sideline last week, rejoicing enthusiastically each time the Giants scored.

 "I like to be around the guys. I was supposed to leave last week, just come to the locker room, hype everybody up," Shepard said. "I’m usually the guys that’s on the DJ (aux) operating all the music. So, I was coming to do that. And I was just going to go back home and kick my knee up. But I just got too into it, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m staying for the game. I’m not going up in the box. I’m going down on the field.’ And (head coach Brian Daboll) let me. So, I’m thankful for that."

Shepard appeared to be injured when he was jogging down the field on the Giants' final play from scrimmage. But he revealed that he might have hurt his knee earlier than that. 

"I think I actually partially tore it probably like two plays before that," he said. "I kind of got up, and my knee did something funny. I was just like, ‘Forget about it, and keep on pushing.’ 

"The next play actually got blown dead, which in hindsight I’m kind of happy about because I was about to have to stick off my left and hard cut. And the next play, I was literally just jogging, and I’m sure you guys saw it. It just slid on me and popped."

Shepard was asked about the MetLife Stadium turf, which has seemingly been a common denominator in several team injuries in the last few years. 

"I’ve heard stuff about that," he said. "I know they tested it a couple of years back and said it was fine. I mean, I love playing on grass. I know a lot of my teammates, we all love playing on grass. It’s just a little bit more forgiving than turf is. At times, your foot can get stuck in the turf. I think all around, it’s better on bodies to play on grass. But I’m not in the decision room or making that decision."

Shepard is set to have surgery once the swelling in his knee subsides. But before that, he's planning on accompanying the team to London this weekend. While he didn't want to speculate on his future beyond this year, he is determined to make lemonade out of the lemons.

"Like I told you, it’s like a grieving period, and you have a lot of stuff flying through your head," he said. "But when you get time to settle down and what you really want, the next day, it hit me. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to let this get me down. I’m going to fight through it. I’ve done it once; I can do it again.’ It gives me a chance to get my body fully healthy, and I feel good about it." 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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