The New York Giants won’t have running back Saquon Barkley on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers or again this season after he suffered a torn ACL in a Week 2 loss to the Chicago Bears, but he wasn’t the only player they lost.
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard also left the game with turf toe and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that he, too, will sit out in Week 3 against the 49ers.
The #Giants won’t have WR Sterling Shepard this week vs the #49ers, source said, as he deals with turf toe. So while #NYG gets some help with Davonte Freeman signing this morning, they still will be far from complete on offense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2020
The news on Shepard doesn’t come as much of a surprise given how long turf toe tends to linger, but now it has been essentially confirmed that the wideout will be sidelined for a while.
It’s possible the Giants place Shepard on injured reserve given that the 2020 COVID-19 rules allow for a three-week stint before a player can be reactivated. That would give Shepard time to heal while the Giants open up a spot on their 53-man roster.
With Shepard out, expect the Giants to promote one (or more) of the wide receivers they currently have stashed on their practice squad.
