Shepard (thumb) is in line to be ready for the Giants' Week 1 visit to Dallas, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
After fracturing the tip of his left thumb in the Giants' second practice of training camp, Shepard missed the entire preseason, as expected. By the time preparation for the regular-season opener starts after Labor Day weekend, he'll have more than two weeks of contact reps under his belt, backing up Raanan's contention that Shepard will be one of Eli Manning's primary weapons in the passing attack Week 1.