NEW YORK GIANTS
Giants’ Sterling Shepard on Possible NFL Retirement: ‘Too Early to Close the Door’
SCOTT POLACEKX.com Logo
JANUARY 29, 2024
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JANUARY 07: Sterling Shepard #3 of the New York Giants takes the field before kickoff against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on January 7, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Sterling Shepard might retire this offseason, but he isn’t ready to make an official decision.
“It’s too early to close the door right now,” the New York Giants wide receiver said during an interview with the 2nd Wind Podcast (24:50 mark). “I’m content with what I’ve done with my career and where I’m at right now. … It has to make sense for me and my family to go do that.”
Shepard explained he is content with where he is financially and with his family, so retiring wouldn’t be a problem if that is the path he ultimately chooses.
While he will be just 31 years old during the 2024 campaign, he has dealt with injury concerns throughout his career. He notably suffered a torn ACL in 2022 and torn Achilles in 2021 in addition to setbacks with his ankle, quad and hamstring.
He was also nothing more than a secondary playmaker in 2023 with 10 catches for 57 yards and one touchdown in 15 games.
The Oklahoma product has spent his entire career with the Giants since they selected him with a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He tallied eight touchdown catches as a rookie and established himself as a solid producer with five straight seasons of more than 500 receiving yards before the significant injuries.
Shepard posted a career-high with 872 receiving yards in 2018 but has been unable to return to that level in recent years.
New York also signed him to just a one-year deal for the 2023 campaign, so there is plenty of uncertainty about his immediate future if he did decide to return in 2024.
