Shepard is in line to sign with the Buccaneers' practice squad, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Shepard was released as part of Tampa Bay's final roster cuts Monday. The 31-year-old will now stick with the team on the practice squad, where he should serve as one of the top options to move up to the active roster if the Buccaneers are in need of extra receiver depth at some point this regular season. Shepard appeared in 15 regular-season games for the Giants in 2023, catching 10 passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.
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Sterling Shepard: Dropped by Tampa Bay
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The Buccaneers released Shepard on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Shepard inked a deal with the Buccaneers in June after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Giants, but it now appears that Tampa Bay has decided to part ways with the veteran wideout. According to Rapoport, the Buccaneers are holding a spot for Shepard on the team's practice squad if the 31-year-old clears waivers.
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Buccaneers' Sterling Shepard: Unlikely to play Friday
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Shepard (undisclosed) is not likely to suit up for the Buccaneers' preseason finale against the Dolphins on Friday, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
An unspecified injury has kept Shepard from playing in either of the Bucs' first two preseason games, and it appears he will also sit out for the preseason finale Friday. Despite missing an extended amount of time, the 2016 second-round pick is expected to make Tampa Bay's 53-man roster as a backup wide receiver behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan. Shepard signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in June after spending the first eight years of his NFL career with the Giants.
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Buccaneers' Sterling Shepard: Returns to practice
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Shepard (undisclosed) practiced Tuesday while wearing a black non-contact jersey, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Shepard's return to the field is good news, but his limited availability should keep him questionable for Friday's game against the Dolphins.
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Buccaneers' Sterling Shepard: Dealing with undisclosed injury
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Shepard, who did not play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Bengals, is dealing with an unspecified injury and didn't practice Monday, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.
Smith notes the wideout actually began missing practice time in the days leading up to the game versus Cincinnati. Shepard, who was a college teammate of Baker Mayfield, was brought in to offer veteran depth, although he may realistically serve as no more than a No. 5 receiver given the promising play of both rookie Jalen McMillan and second-year wideout Trey Palmer.
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Buccaneers' Sterling Shepard: Links up with Tampa
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Shepard agreed to a one-year contract with the Buccaneers on Thursday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Shepard spent the past eight years with the Giants, playing 90 of a possible 131 regular-season games. He's had a hard time staying healthy for years now, but until last season he consistently drew targets whenever available. After catching just 10 passes in 15 games last season, the 31-year-old will compete for a depth role with Tampa Bay.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Ends season with whimper
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Shepard hauled in three of five targets for 18 yards and carried once for six yards in Sunday's 27-10 win over the Eagles. Shepard ended the regular season with 10 catches on 22 targets for 57 yards and a touchdown over 15 games. He added a six-yard rush and a 10-yard punt return.
After playing in just 10 contests over the previous two campaigns due to an Achilles tear and a torn ACL, Shepard was able to stay healthy in 2023. However, he was relegated to a role near the back of New York's receiver depth chart and played fewer than one-third of the team's offensive snaps in all but one of his 15 appearances. In a testament to his limited role on offense, his modest numbers in Week 18 represented one of his better stat lines of the season, as Shepard finished the campaign with just 10 catches for 57 yards and one touchdown on 22 targets. The Giants seemed to acknowledge that Shepard's 2023 season would be his swan song with the franchise, as he was the final player out of the tunnel for pregame introductions in Week 18. Shepard will turn 31 years old in February and is expected to attract limited interest in free agency this offseason.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Active, but fails to play Monday
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Shepard was active for Monday's 24-22 win over the Packers but didn't play any snaps on offense or special teams.
Even with fellow slot receiver Parris Campbell (knee) missing the Week 14 contest, Shepard wasn't part of the Giants' wideout rotation. The Giants' decision to keep Shepard on the bench the entire night was somewhat surprising, considering the 30-year-old had drawn 10 targets over the team's last three games before a Week 13 bye. If Campbell is back in action for this Sunday's game against the Saints, Shepard could be a healthy inactive for the contest.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Full participant at practice
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Shepard (hip) was a full participant at Thursday's practice, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.
Shepard's full participation comes one day after logging a limited workload. Barring any setbacks, he looks on track to suit up in Sunday's matchup with the Patriots. The pass catcher has seen more playing time in recent weeks, but he is still seen as the third or fourth option at best in New York's receiving rotation.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Dealing with hip injury
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Shepard was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice due to a hip injury, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.
Shepard received a little more playing time the past two weeks after barely playing for two months, but he's still not getting many targets and is at best the third or fourth option in a five- or six-man rotation at wide receiver. An absence for Sunday's matchup with the Patriots could mean more snaps for Wan'Dale Robinson, Parris Campbell, Jalin Hyatt and Isaiah Hodgins, especially if Darius Slayton (arm) is out as well. Shepard appears more likely to play than Slayton, who didn't practice at all Wednesday.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Gets garbage-time score in loss
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Shepard caught one of four targets for a two-yard touchdown in Sunday's 49-17 loss to the Cowboys.
Shepard was shut out in the receiving department until he caught a two-yard touchdown toss from Tommy DeVito on a fade toward the corner of the end zone with six seconds remaining in the contest. The catch was just Shepard's fifth of the campaign, as he's played a very minimal role in the Giants offense this season. Shepard did see a season-high four targets Sunday, though they all came on New York's final drive of the contest when the outcome had long been decided. With that context, there's little reason to expect the veteran wideout to work his way into a more prominent offensive role, especially with the Giants ranking among the league's worst passing teams and looking ahead to a top draft pick rather than a playoff push.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Limited to just one snap Sunday
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Shepard wasn't targeted while taking the field for just one of the Giants' 77 snaps on offense in Sunday's 14-9 loss to the Bills.
Head coach Brian Daboll talked of potentially expanding Shepard's role ahead of Week 5 action, and while the wideout ended up receiving a season-high 18 snaps in the Giants' loss to the Dolphins that week, his playing time trended back down again Week 6. Now sitting at 1-5 on the season heading into this Sunday's game against the Commanders, the Giants are quickly slipping from the playoff picture and may not have motivation to open up playing time for the 30-year-old Shepard at the expense of young wideouts Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Role expected to grow
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Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that Shepard is likely to receive more playing time Sunday against the Dolphins, Art Stapleton of The Record Sports reports.
Shepard has yet to play more than 20 percent of New York's offensive snaps in any of his four appearances this season. Daboll said Wednesday that the team had more packages featuring Shepard in its playbook for Monday's 24-3 loss to Seattle, but the Giants weren't able to get those play calls due to the flow of the game. Shepard was on the field for only five snaps Monday, catching his lone target for six yards. With the Giants getting underwhelming production from their other wide receivers, Shepard could carve out a larger role moving forward if Daboll follows through with his plan.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Sees first action since return
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Shepard caught his only target for six yards in Friday's preseason win over the Panthers.
In his first game action since tearing his ACL in Week 3 last year, Shepard was on the other end of a Tyrod Taylor toss right before halftime as the Giants ran a brief two-minute drill. Despite his return to full health, the veteran slot receiver faces a lot more competition for snaps and targets than he did to begin the 2022 campaign, and Shepard could find himself buried on the depth chart and potentially even off the game-day roster for a Week 1 tilt against the Cowboys.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Returns from PUP list
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Giants head coach Brian Daboll said Shepard (knee) will be activated from the active/PUP list Sunday, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.
Shepard will join the Giants for his first practice since suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in a Sept. 26 loss to the Cowboys and later undergoing surgery. The wideout has been limited to just 10 regular-season appearances over the past two years, after a torn Achilles' tendon previously spelled an early end to his 2021 campaign. Due in no small part to his poor track record on the health front, Shepard settled for a one-year, $1.32 million contract with the Giants this offseason and may be forced to battle for a spot in a New York receiver group that lacks an obvious No. 1 option but has plenty of depth. Offseason pickup Parris Campbell likely represents Shepard's primary competition for reps in the slot while Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) recovers from an ACL tear of his own.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Can't quite avoid PUP
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Shepard (knee) is on the active/PUP list to start training camp, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports that Shepard has looked good this summer and may not stay on the PUP list for long. The 30-year-old has been the Giants' primary slot receiver whenever healthy for the past half-decade, but he's always struggled with injuries and now finds himself coming back from major surgery (ACL tear) for a second straight year -- this time in an offense that also has Parris Campbell and Wan'Dale Robinson (ACL) as slot options.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Continues to progress
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Shepard, who tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2022 season, noted Tuesday that he is "right on schedule" physically, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.
The 30-year-old added that his "goal is to be ready for the season." Once Shepard is fully up to speed, he'll have a chance to compete for slot snaps in a Giants wide receiver corps that also includes Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell, Jalin Hyatt and Wan'Dale Robinson (knee). After suiting up for just 10 games over the past two campaigns, Shepard has much to prove health and role-wise before he'll merit fantasy consideration.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Running routes
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Shepard (knee) ran routes at practice Thursday, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.
It's only non-contact work at OTAs but at least shows that Shepard is on schedule in his rehab from October surgery on an ACL tear. He signed a one-year contract with the Giants in March and may end up on the roster bubble this summer, but they'll first give the 30-year-old a chance to get healthy and compete for slot snaps. Shepard has averaged at least 42.7 receiving yards per game in each of seven pro seasons, topping 50 the past six years, but he played only 10 games total the past two years and 32 over the past four. He's now rehabbing from major surgery for a second straight offseason after tearing an Achilles in 2021.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Officially re-signs with Giants
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Shepard (knee) re-signed with the Giants on a one-year contract Thursday, Michael Eisen of the team's official site reports.
This move was expected, but now pen has officially been put to paper. Shepard is recovering from an ACL tear sustained in Week 3 of the 2022 season. Injuries have limited his availability in recent years, but Shepard has been fairly productive when on the field, having topped 600 yards four times since the Giants selected him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
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Giants' Sterling Shepard: Expected to be re-signed
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The Giants are expected to re-sign Shepard (knee) on Wednesday, when the new league year begins, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Shepard is slated to return to the Giants on a one-year, $1.165 million deal heading into his eighth season in 2023, according to Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record. The 5-foot-10 wideout was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2016 Draft and has been a steady producer since then, though he's dealt with numerous injuries over the last four seasons and appeared in just 32 games during that stretch. He tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2022 campaign and remains in the rehab process, but the impending deal with the Giants suggests New York is happy with the progress the 30-year-old has made so far. However, his status for the start of the upcoming season remains unclear.
