Sterling Shepard: 'I'm a fighter . . . I want to earn my job'

The hits Sterling Shepard took in Friday night’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers didn’t hurt.

They signified progress.

“It felt good,” Shepard told Newsday after the game, his first since last year’s season-ending ACL injury in Week 3. “It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs. I just thank the Lord for blessing me and allowing me to do what I love to do.”

Shepard made one catch for 6 yards that resulted in a first down on Friday. He estimated that he was on the field for about 20 snaps. “Every time I was in there, I felt like me,” he said. “I wasn’t really putting any thought to anything else other than doing my job.”

That seems pretty remarkable, considering Shepard’s journey in recent years has included significant hurdles.

In Week 15 of the 2021 season, he tore his left Achilles, ending his season. He already had missed seven games in what was an injury-riddled year.

After rehabbing, Shepard looked optimistically to the 2022 season, only to tear his left ACL in Week 3.

“I’m a fighter,” he said at the time, “so I want to go out on my terms.”

These days, Shepard says he doesn’t allow himself to dwell on the past. He’s back on the field, focusing on what he loves to do.

“Get open, catch the ball,” he said. “Do the job of the wide receiver and [contribute] in the run game. That’s what we talk about, and I think I’ve done just that.”

Coach Brian Daboll understands Shepard’s history. He also knows what he’s seen from the longest-tenured Giant on and off the field.

“He’s such a good teammate and such a competitor,” Daboll said. “I’m always checking with him, how he’s doing on the sideline, [asking] are you good to go, and he’s competitive as always.”

In a crowded wide receivers’ room, Shepard made it clear that he’s not looking for preferential treatment, and he’s surely not seeking a sympathy vote. He’s confident that he will deserve a roster spot in his eighth season.

“I want it to be fair,” he said. “I want to earn my job. I don’t want to be handed a job in any way, shape or form. I know what I can do on the field. I feel like I can show what I can do.”

Any suggestion to the contrary would disgust Shepard.

“Yeah,” he said, “I don’t want anything handed to me, ever. So it’s not like I deserve anything. No, you don’t deserve anything in this league. You have to work for everything.”

Shepard enjoys providing leadership and perspective to his younger peers.

Fellow wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins said of Shepard: “I see a lot of energy on the field, a lot of craftiness with his route-running. Shep’s played with such talented people. He just knows so much about the game and about wide receivers. I’m always asking him questions, and he’s unselfish. He’s always giving advice . . . Some vets you see, some you don’t.

“He’s always giving advice and helping people out. That’s what I love about him. He doesn’t care who’s [succeeding] as long as it’s one of his wideout brothers. He’s a good teammate.”

That’s a role Shepard always has embraced.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ve always looked at myself as a leader. The way I lead is by getting everybody up. I’m a vocal leader, so I feel like I can do that, and I can provide leadership for the young guys as well.”

In an effort to keep Shepard healthy, he has had prescribed rest days during camp. He believes that’s been prudent.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “Coming off an ACL, you’re still working on the strength. At nine months is when you return to the field, but it’s also [a situation where] you’re still trying to gain more strength.

“The days off [from practice] kind of helped me. I was able to go into the weight room and do my strength building. The knee is feeling great and I think it’s a good plan.”

It has worked so far.

“I’ve always seen the light at the end of the tunnel,” Shepard said.

That light includes his faith and being able to stay on the field, where Sterling Shepard knows he still belongs.

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.