Coach Joe Judge said Monday that he expects Shepard (toe) to return to practice this week, indicating that he could play Sunday against Washington, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.
If Shepard indeed returns to practice, it'll open the 21-day window for the wide receiver to be activated from IR. Judge explained that he wants to get Shepard moving in practice and see how he responds before making any decisions on his game status. If Shepard returns for Sunday's game, he's expected to start in three-wide sets even if he's still held back a bit by his injury.