Sterling Shepard - Pro Football Rumors

Injury Updates: Rams, Matthews, Giants, Engram

October 8th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Zachary Links

There’s still no official word on when Rams outside linebacker Clay Matthews will return to action, but a realistic return date for him would be after the team’s bye week, head coach Sean McVay told reporters. That would line the veteran up for a Week 10 return on Nov. 10 against the Steelers, restoring one of the Rams’ defensive stars for a second-half push.

While Matthews’ busted jaw heals up, the Rams will face the 49ers in an intrastate matchup on Sunday.

Here’s more on some notable injuries from around the NFL:

Giants tight end Evan Engram is dealing with a sprained MCL, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). It’ll be a challenge for Engram to play against the Patriots on Thursday, Schefter hears, which would leave the club with Rhett Ellison, Garrett Dickerson, and Kaden Smith at TE. Meanwhile, wide receiver Sterling Shepard is out and running back Saquon Barkley is considered unlikely to play.
49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk suffered an MCL injury on Monday night against the Browns, a source tells NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The team should know more after an MRI on Tuesday. Juszczyk may not be a household name, but he’s a key part of SF’s offense.

Injury Updates: Chiefs, Giants, Shepard

October 7th, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones suffered a groin strain in Sunday night’s game, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. After the results of his MRI come in, the Chiefs will know whether Jones will miss games.

Jones, 25, has two sacks through five games this year. Last season, he was phenomenal and finished with a career-high 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders, with his pass-rushing score ranking second at the position.

While we wait to hear whether Jones will miss the Chiefs’ Week 6 game against the Texans, or anything beyond that, here’s more from around the NFL:

Chiefs defensive tackle Xavier Williams has a badly sprained ankle, Rapoport tweets. It’s a certainty that he’ll miss time, but the timetable has yet to be fleshed out.
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is back in the concussion protocol, yet again (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan). This is Shepard’s second concussion this season, so it could be a while before he gets back on the field. Shepard had five catches for 49 yards against the Vikings in Week 5, bringing his season stat line to 25/267/1.
In more positive Chiefs news: guard Andrew Wylie (ankle) got good news on his Monday X-rays.

Injury Notes: 9/20/19

September 20th, 2019 at 10:53am CST by Rory Parks

Here are the latest significant injury-related notes from around the league:

Marshall Newhouse, whom the Patriots signed last week, will serve as the club’s starting left tackle until Isaiah Wynn returns, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com (via Twitter).
As expected, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson will not play in Week 3, but the club is still optimistic about the availability of Alshon Jeffery and Dallas Goedert, as Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com tweets.
Buccaneers LB Devin White will not play this weekend, per Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is out of the concussion protocol and will play in Week 3 per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (via PFT). Rookie QB Daniel Jones will be making his first start, so Shepard’s presence will be especially helpful.
The Seahawks are getting closer to full strength, as both WR David Moore and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah are expected to play in Week 3, per Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. We had already heard that Ansah was likely to make his Seattle debut this weekend, but Moore’s return is earlier than expected, even after we learned at the end of August that he would avoid IR.
Top Jets defenders C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams are not expected to play this week, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The Week 3 outlook is also bleak for WR Demaryius Thomas and LB Jordan Jenkins.
Tyler Kroft‘s Bills debut may be put on hold for awhile longer. Kroft was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but as Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk writes, Buffalo HC Sean McDermott told reporters that Kroft injured his ankle in Thursday’s practice and will undergo further evaluation.

NFL Reviewing Concussion Protocol

September 14th, 2019 at 6:44pm CST by PFR Staff

The NFL and its player’s association have initiated a review of the concussion protocol after Giants WR Sterling Shepard suffered a concussion, yet was allowed to stay in the game last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.

Both the league and union are attempting to figure out what exactly happened on Sunday vs. the Cowboys. Shepard collided with CB Anthony Brown, feel backward and struggled to get up. Shepard waived off the Giants personnel that attempted to get him off the field and Shepard remained in the game.

The NFL has two spotters on the sidelines who are on the lookout for signs that a player has a concussion during a game. Shepard somehow evaded these officials, Schefter writes, and did not miss a play on Sunday. Shepard clearly suffered a concussion, as he has been ruled out in Week 2 because of the ailment.

NFC East Rumors: Long, Redskins, Cowboys

September 13th, 2019 at 4:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s look at the latest from the NFC East, starting with how the Eagles attempt to fill the void Malik Jackson‘s injury created.

Jackson going down wounded one of the NFL’s top defensive lines, and it prompted Doug Pederson to address whether or not the Eagles and Chris Long had been in contact. The defensive end retired, in part because there would not be as much playing time to go around this season. But even with Jackson’s injury, Pederson said the Eagles were focused on adding a defensive tackle, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “We’re pretty deep at D-end right now so just the D-tackle spot,” Pederson said. The Eagles signed former Dolphins starter Akeem Spence to help on their interior. Jackson has worked as a 4-3 end, 4-3 tackle and 3-4 end but was a tackle in Philadelphia’s scheme.
The Redskins have declared Jonathan Allen out for their Week 2 game. He suffered an MCL sprain Sunday and is considered week-to-week, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). There is a chance Allen returns for Week 3 or Week 4, with ESPN.com’s John Keim classifying this as a grade 1 sprain (Twitter link). The third-year defensive end missed 11 games as a rookie but re-emerged with a 16-game 2018 season.
Moving to a third NFC East team’s defensive front, Taco Charlton has yet to reward the Cowboys for their first-round investment in him two years ago. Despite Robert Quinn being suspended, the Cowboys made Charlton a healthy scratch against the Giants. A trade would not surprise Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams, with the veteran Cowboys reporter noting the team may still be looking for a safety. The Cowboys are the only known team to contact the Dolphins on now-available Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Washington placed Derrius Guice on IR earlier Friday but will not make that move with Colt McCoy. The backup quarterback is progressing to the point a return in advance of Week 4 is realistic, Keim tweets. Dwayne Haskins served as Case Keenum‘s backup Sunday; a McCoy return may shift Washington’s first-round passer to a more developmental role. McCoy also figures to work as a mentor-type figure for the young quarterback.
Sterling Shepard remains in the Giants‘ concussion protocol and will miss Sunday’s game against the Bills. The Giants also have Cody Latimer listed as questionable. New York brought back T.J. Jones this week and is set to deploy its lowest-profile receiving corps since the midseason games Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr. missed in 2017.

Giants Re-Sign WR T.J. Jones

September 11th, 2019 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sterling Shepard is uncertain for Sunday’s Week 2 Giants-Bills game, so Big Blue is turning back to recently released receiver. The Giants brought back T.J. Jones on Wednesday.

Jones was with the Giants during the preseason but did not make their 53-man roster. In moving him to the roster now, the Giants placed outside linebacker Kareem Martin on IR.

While Jones has experience as a receiver and return man from his Lions run, the Giants may need him as a pass catcher Sunday. Shepard is in concussion protocol and did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and Golden Tate‘s suspension runs three more games. The Giants are down to former Broncos backups-turned-second-year Giants Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler, along with fellow Year 2 Giant Russell Shepard.

Playing behind Tate and Marvin Jones in 2017, T.J. Jones established career highs in receptions (30) and yards (399). T.J. Jones caught 19 passes for 190 yards in 15 games last season.

The Giants signed Martin to a three-year, $15MM deal in 2018. One of James Bettcher‘s former Cardinals charges, Martin suffered a knee injury Sunday that Pat Shurmur indicated (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, on Twitter) would take weeks to heal. The sixth-year pass rusher has notched just 1.5 sacks in 17 Big Blue games. Martin will be eligible to return after eight weeks.

Sterling Shepard Fractures Thumb

July 25th, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Giants camp is not off to a great start. One of their top weapons will be out for a while. The team announced Sterling Shepard fractured his thumb on Thursday.

While the fourth-year Giants wide receiver will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis, he will certainly miss some time. It is not certain if the recently extended talent will need surgery. The early word is Shepard’s Week 1 status will be in question, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Shepard signed a four-year, $41MM extension earlier this year. The team committed to him after trading Odell Beckham Jr. While Shepard and Golden Tate form a solid wideout duo, the Giants are quite thin behind them. They have former Broncos Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler on board, and sixth-round rookie Darius Slayton showed promise in minicamp. But 2016 Browns first-round pick Corey Coleman profiles as the likely No. 3 wide receiver to start the season. Coleman (five catches in eight Giants games last season) now figures to see extensive time in Big Blue’s starting lineup.

This injury hit the Giants early enough where it’s not out of the question the former second-round pick could be back in time for New York’s opener. Jimmy Graham played through a broken thumb last season, but each injury is obviously different. Shepard finished last season with a career-high 872 receiving yards, his yards-per-reception figure jumping from 12.3 to 16.7 in the games Beckham missed to close the season.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Kelce, Giants

April 15th, 2019 at 3:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the NFC East:

Eagles center Jason Kelce says he played through a grade two MCL sprain, a broken foot, a “torn elbow” and other nagging injuries in 2018 (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Kelce, who recently re-upped with the team on an extension to take him through the 2021 season, says he’s not quite 100%, noting that he’s “as healed as I’m going to get.” Following the Eagles’ Divisional Round loss to the Saints, Kelce hinted that he may end up retiring, so it’s unlikely that Kelce will actually play through ’21. Instead, his new deal simply signals that he’s committed to play this season.
Eagles running back Josh Adams is expected to miss the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program as he recovers from shoulder surgery, Mike Kaye of NJ.com hears. The good news is that Adams’ six-month timetable from January labrum surgery should put him in line to participate in July’s training camp. Adams put himself on the map last year with a team-leading 511 rushing yards plus three touchdowns. His usage dropped after five consecutive starts, but he’ll have an opportunity to build on that progress in 2019.
Sterling Shepard‘s contract extension talks with the Giants appeared to have picked up after the Odell Beckham trade, Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com tweets. Shepard’s new deal – a four-year, $41MM pact – was larger than expected, though the going rate for wide receivers shot up dramatically this offseason. Had the Giants not extended Shepard, teams such as the Patriots would have been ready to pounce on him in free agency next year.

Patriots Had Interest In Sterling Shepard

April 12th, 2019 at 9:29am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots had interest in trading for Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard this offseason, according to Pat Leonard of the Daily News. Of course, that’s no longer an option for the Pats after Shepard inked a four-year, $41MM extension with the G-Men.

The value of Shepard’s extension raised eyebrows in the football world, but it’s clear that the slot receiver is well-valued around the league. Had the Giants not re-upped Shepard after his career year in 2018, they would have risked losing him to a free agent market next year that is increasingly strong for receivers like him.

Meanwhile, the Pats will have to look elsewhere for offensive firepower. The retirement of Rob Gronkowski, defection of Cordarrelle Patterson, and suspension of Josh Gordon leaves them with little in the way of targets for Tom Brady. The club could still circle back to free agent Chris Hogan, though we haven’t heard much on that front lately.

The Pats went after Adam Humphries and Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this offseason, but did not come away with either player. They also pursued Jared Cook – even after he agreed to sign with the Saints – as a Gronk replacement, but they were rebuffed. At this stage, the Pats will probably have to zero in receivers in the draft and summer cap casualties.

Giants, Sterling Shepard Agree To Extension

April 10th, 2019 at 4:21pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants have finalized a four-year, $41MM extension with wide receiver Sterling Shepard, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Prior to the extension, Shepard was set to hit the open market after the 2019 season.

Shepard, the team’s longest-tenured receiver, is now the club’s highest-paid player at the position. It’s a larger than expected deal for Shepard, especially since his skill set mirrors that of new acquisition Golden Tate.

By the same token, the Giants will be relying on Shepard even more now that Odell Beckham is out of the picture. He’ll look to build off of a career year in 2018 when he hauled in 66 receptions for 872 yards and four touchdowns. The 26-year-old spent most of the year in the slot, though he also lined up outside towards the end of the year while OBJ was sidelined.

The former 2016 second-round pick and Tate are set to headline the Giants’ WR depth chart with support from the recently re-signed Russell Shepard, Corey Coleman, Bennie Fowler, Cody Latimer, and others.