Cruelly, Sterling Shepard’s 2022 season ended prematurely. Again.
It was the second consecutive year in which his season was cut short by injury. In 2021, he suffered a ruptured left Achilles in Week 14. Last season, it was a non-contact torn ACL in his left knee in Week 3.
The norm when NFL players suffer a season-ending injury is that they disappear. They come to the team’s facility to rehab, head home afterward and are rarely seen inside the locker room, because they often don’t feel a part of the team when they’re not playing.
Not Shepard.
The 30-year-old receiver and longest-tenured current Giant spent more time in the locker room than the locker-room attendants — encouraging teammates, cajoling them, offering advice and serving as the unofficial deejay.
There was nowhere else Shepard would have rather been, because he didn’t know how long the ride would last. With a new coaching staff and management regime and a team getting younger by the minute, the chances the Giants would re-sign a 30-year-old receiver, who had played just 10 games across the past two seasons, seemed slim at the time.
Shepard was determined to soak it all in.
In a conversation with The Post after practice Wednesday, Shepard revealed another profound reason why he deemed it important to stay involved after his injury.
“At the beginning of last season, Coach [Brian] Daboll asked us to write down what we would want in a teammate, and the thing I wrote down on the paper was being selfless,’’ Shepard said. “So, after my injury I had the option of whether I wanted to go home and chill after I got done with rehab, or I could be around my teammates.
“When you think about a selfless person, it’s putting everybody else over your personal success and no matter what still being a team player. I thought even though I wasn’t physically on the field I could help guys mentally, so I took it upon myself to get up early every morning and come in here and make sure everybody’s mindset was right and help out on the field in any way that I could. I felt like I could benefit the guys that way.’’
He did.
Shepard’s presence was powerful. He made a difference — even while not catching passes.
“Shep is the type of person who’s the heartbeat of the team,’’ Giants receiver Darius Slayton told The Post on Wednesday. “He’s a glue guy — good energy, good spirit, a guy you want to have around, keeps things light, but also is a pro. He practices as hard anybody, and he’s a hell of a player as well. His role is definitely tremendous for us.
“It says a lot about him as a person that he was willing to spend that much time with us in the locker room when he really didn’t have to. He was playing the music, joking, keeping people’s spirits up, and he has a wealth of knowledge to share. He’s just a great resource. I’m grateful to still have him here.’’
Shepard said that he contemplated his future while he was shelved last season, but tried not to dwell on it.
“It definitely ran through my mind a couple of times, but I prayed about it and I was ready for whatever came my way,’’ he said.
What would he have done if the Giants hadn’t re-signed him? Would he have played elsewhere?
“I don’t want to play anywhere else,’’ he said. “I want to retire a Giant. So yeah, I don’t think I would go play anywhere else. I do burn to play, and that’s a tough question, because I feel like I still have something in the tank and this is what I love to do.
“Fortunately, I never had to sit down and make that decision. I hope I’m never forced to make that decision. I’ve given this place everything I have every time I step on that field.’’
And inside the sanctuary of the locker room, too.
“When you talk to ex-players, the thing that they miss the most is the locker room and camaraderie,’’ Shepard said. “I don’t want to take that for granted, because after football’s done, you miss that, it’s over with. So, I’m going to cherish that every moment I get with my guys.’’
Daboll wouldn’t divulge whether Shepard will play Friday night in the preseason game against the Panthers, which would be his first game since the knee injury last September, though the head coach did say, “It’ll be good to get him out there, get some live action.’’
Reading the tea leaves, it seems likely Shepard will play, because he was given a rest day from practice Wednesday (presumably so he’ll be stronger for Friday), and the starters are expected to play at least a series against Carolina.
“It’ll be exciting,’’ Shepard said of playing in a game again. “It’s something I’m looking forward to and something that I’ve worked really hard to get back to.’’
And it’s something he richly deserves after a long wait.
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