Tag: Sterling Shepard

Jamison Crowder working out with Daniel Jones, Giants receivers at Duke

Jamison Crowder is working out with Daniel Jones, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton at Duke.

Jamison Crowder is getting a little work in with the Jets’ MetLife Stadium roommates.

According to The Record’s Art Stapleton, Crowder joined Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton for some offseason workouts at Duke University. Both Crowder and Jones are Duke alumni.

Crowder is from Monroe, North Carolina, which is two and a half hours from Duke. So this doesn’t have to do as much with the Giants players at the university, but rather Crowder being closer to home.

Crowder played at Duke from 2011-2014. He recorded 3,641 receiving yards in his college career to go with 23 touchdowns. Crowder was also used a lot on special teams as a returner. He had 65 returns for 869 yards and five touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

The 26-year-old just finished his first season with the Jets after spending the first four years of his career with Washington. In his first year in New York, Crowder had 76 catches for 833 yards and six touchdowns.

The chemistry between him and Sam Darnold was great throughout the season. Crowder acted as Darnold’s safety net and was regularly able to find open holes in the middle of the field.

The hope is that chemistry between Crowder and Darnold can continue into next season and evolve over the next couple of seasons. But for now, Crowder will get his work in at Duke with some Giants players.

Daniel Jones, Giants WRs working out at Duke

Daniel Jones continues the traditional Duke workouts with a few of his WRs.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is hoping to usher in a new era of football as the starter under center, but he’s keeping a certain tradition alive—one that his predecessor Eli Manning did for years.

With the conclusion of Super Bowl LIV, Jones is getting some workouts in at the Duke facility, which also happens to be his alma mater. Wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton are also reported to be on hand for the workouts.

For years, Manning and a few of his wide receivers would partake in workouts at Duke during the offseason. Eli and his brother Peyton both played for current Blue Devils head coach David Cutcliffe. He was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee for Peyton’s years and the head coach at Ole Miss for Eli.

This has turned into an annual gathering for the Giants quarterback and with Jones having played for Cutcliffe for his entire collegiate career, it’s no surprise he’s getting some work in down there.

Having the leader of the wide receiver corps in Shepard and an intriguing emerging talent in Slayton there should help the chemistry in the passing game. It also shows these young players are willing to put in the work with each other during the offseason.

Jones is coming off of a rookie campaign that had both ups and downs. He finished with 24 touchdown passes but also threw 12 interceptions and fumbled the ball 18 times, 12 of which were lost.

Regardless, Jones showed poise and promise during his first season and while he will try to turn things around in this new era of Big Blue football, some traditions will live on.

Giants’ Sterling Shepard: Eli Manning is a first ballot Hall of Famer

New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard says Eli Manning is a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Within 24 hours of Eli Manning announcing his retirement from professional football, the debate over his Hall of Fame credentials was immediately stirred up.

That’s par for the course when it comes to Manning, who has never been able to enjoy a single moment with the New York Giants without his detractors finding some reason to criticize him or bring him down.

Thankfully for Eli, he doesn’t care one bit about those beneath him.

However, Manning’s many teammates from his 16 years in football don’t take the same passive approach he does, often waging war against those haters.

Asked on Wednesday night if Manning is a Hall of Famer, Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard didn’t blink.

“Yeah,” Shepard told TMZ Sports with a look of disbelief that the question was even asked. “First ballot.”

Shepard also praised Manning as both a player and a person, crediting the two-time Super Bowl MVP for assisting him both on and off the field.

“He meant a lot [to New York],” Shepard says. “He meant a lot to me and my career. On and off the field.”

Asked for one word to describe Manning, Shepard again didn’t blink.

“Great,” the wide receiver said.

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Do the Giants have a sudden surplus at wide receiver?

Once thought to be in a disastrous position, do the New York Giants now suddenly have a surplus at wide receiver?

When the New York Giants traded away star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last offseason, many wondered if Sterling Shepard was ready to step up and lead the team.

To help quell those fears, the Giants then signed veteran wide receiver Golden Tate to help fill the void left by Beckham’s departure, but he was almost instantly suspended four games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

In addition to Tate’s suspension, the Giants also saw a slew of injuries to their receivers and tight ends — from Evan Engram to Sterling Shepard, and from Rhett Ellison to Tate.

In fact, it had gotten so bad at one point there were reports that Shepard had been contemplating retirement following a series of concussions.

But in the midst of the injuries and a disappointing season, the Giants may have struck gold with their fifth-round rookie Darius Slayton. Slayton had 48 receptions, including eight touchdowns and continued to impress all year long.

Assuming all of those players remain healthy in 2020, do the Giants actually have a surplus of receivers? Certainly, a player like Tate or Shepard would command some draft capital in a trade. However, as we saw this year, it is crucial to have depth — especially with wide receivers.

Rookie Daniel Jones never really had all of his weapons on the field for most of the season, so it’s hard to know just how much potential the Giants have on offense, but there’s no denying there’s a load of talent in the WR/TE rooms. Not to mention running back Saquon Barkley, who is an elite pass-catcher despite his misuse.

In hindsight, it’s amusing to look back at the panic following the OBJ trade. The Giants have quite a bit of depth at the position and pending health, could be in position to really excel with their group of pass catchers.

Can they put it all together in 2020? That remains to be seen, but they certainly appear to be in much better shape going into 2020 than many believed they were entering 2019.

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Giants players express disappointed, guilt over Pat Shurmur firing

New York Giants players expressed disappointment, guilt and frustration over the firing of head coach Pat Shurmur.

Pat Shurmur was a players’ coach and the New York Giants locker room loved him, so after learning of his termination on Monday morning, there was plenty of disappointment and guilt to go around.

“It’s tough,” Jones told reporters. “Obviously, that’s I guess part of the business and part of being at this level. But it’s tough on me, tough on all of us.

“Just disappointed. Coach obviously believed in me, coach believed in all of us, and it’s disappointing. I’m grateful to him for the opportunity. I think he’s an excellent football coach and I really appreciate what he’s done for us.”

Jones’ opinion was shared by a multitude of other players, including veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who is also in his final days with the team.

“Coach Shurmur and I had a great relationship,” Manning said. “I think he is a great coach, I think he is a wonderful man and [I’m] just disappointed. I think you always feel responsible when a coach gets fired. It’s obviously because as players we didn’t do our part. We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t win enough games.

“I feel for him and all the coaches. They worked hard and did a lot of hard work and a lot of good things. Obviously, just didn’t win enough games for them to stay on and move forward, so [I’m] disappointed.”

Running back Saquon Barkley felt especially blindsided by the news of Shurmur’s firing despite the writing that has been on the wall for weeks.

“I was surprised by it,” Barkley said. “Upset, we’re all upset. I’ve been preaching all season whenever anyone asked me about what I think about if our coaching staff are the right people, I always kept saying it’s easy to point the finger at one person. But at the end of the day, kind of like what DG (Gettleman) said in the (team) meeting, we’re all responsible. We’re all responsible for these last two seasons. Coach Shurmur is a heck of a person, heck of a coach, and definitely helped me develop over these last two years.

“He’s one of the guys that believed in me, believed in D.J. (Jones), for us to get here and live our dreams of playing in the NFL. You don’t want to see anybody go out like that. It sucks because, like I said, you point the finger at one person. It wasn’t all him, it’s all of us. We just need to take that and learn from the lesson, and in the future, to be better.”

Veteran left tackle Nate Solder, who arrived on the scene with Shurmur in 2018, expressed a similar disappointment.

“It’s disappointing,” Solder said. “I know when he was hired here and I know when I came here, there were such high expectations and such high hopes. I do believe that they’ve built a foundation of something great here. It’s up to us to take a deep look at what we need to do better, those of us that will be here. We need to be a lot better.

“When you have a head coach, you just kind of think that’s always going to be the case. This business is brutal. I think there were a lot of good things that came out of the last couple of years. But that doesn’t matter if you’re not getting the wins. The margin of error is so small, so thin, between winning and losing in this league. You have to find a way to come out on top.”

For veteran players like wide receiver Sterling Shepard, the constant upheaval is becoming too much of a common theme.

“It’s a tough day,” Shepard said. “What we all do affects a lot of people. You really get a look at that today. We all look back and wish we could have been better in different areas. That’s the sucky part about this business.

“You build a relationship with people over the two years we had [Shurmur]. He’s a great person, a great guy, and it’s just unfortunate that everything didn’t work out here.”

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Report: Robby Anderson doesn’t plan on giving Jets hometown discount

Not willing to give a hometown discount, Robby Anderson is looking to cash-in as he becomes a free agent for the first time in his career.

With the Jets season coming to a close, the team has a decision to make about impending free agent wide receiver Robby Anderson.

Anderson has a big opportunity to cash-in as the fourth-year receiver out of Temple will hit free agency for the first time in his career. Since Anderson and the Jets failed to come to terms on a contract extension prior to the beginning of the regular season, his price tag has gone up and he will likely command around upwards of $12 million on the open market.

At 26 years old and entering the prime of his career, Anderson is in a position to earn the biggest contract of his NFL career. With this in mind, a hometown discount for the Jets during bidding for his mind doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

“You got to talk to my agent,” Anderson told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News following the Jets 13-6 win over Buffalo. “I don’t think that makes sense.”

After a slow start to the season, Anderson had a second-half surge that could earn him a nice payday. He finished the season with 52 receptions for 779 yards and five touchdowns.

“I would say that I played the cards that I was dealt and made the most out of what I could,” Anderson said of his 2019 season.

Anderson will be seeking a contract similar to what receivers Tyrell Williams, Sterling Shepard and Tyler Boyd have signed recently. He is going to command a competitive market in free agency given his ability to take the top off the defense and game-breaking speed. Also working in Anderson’s favor is his underneath route-running skills, which developed nicely as 2019 progressed.

The Jets would be wise to get Anderson signed to a long-term deal before the legal-tampering period begins. Just don’t expect him to take a cheaper deal with the team that took a shot on him as an undrafted free agent.

Giants’ Sterling Shepard: Daniel Jones is ‘going to be something special’

New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard is sold — he believes rookie QB Daniel Jones is going to be a “special” player.

New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur called it “heroic.” Wide receiver Sterling Shepard called it “savage.” Whatever the preferred adjective, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones had a game for the ages in Week 16 and is breaking league and franchise records left and right.

In the 41-35 overtime victory over the Washington Redskins, Jones completed 28 of his 42 passes for 352 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Most impressive of all? After winning the overtime coin toss, Jones told his teammates they were going to drive the field and win the game. And they did.

“That dude is going to be something special,” Shepard said, via ESPN.

By all accounts, Jones already is something special. Yes, he’s got some fumbling issues that are easily cured (see: Lamar Jackson), but beyond that, his growth has been remarkable.

Already, Jones is a better quarterback than Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock. And the argument could be made that he’s more talented than Josh Allen, leaving only Lamar Jackson, the favorite to win NFL MVP this season, ahead of him on the list of rookie and sophomore quarterbacks.

For all the flack general manager Dave Gettleman received over the Jones pick, he now deserves a warm pack on the back for getting it right.

Jones is a franchise quarterback and the Giants are lucky to have him.

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Giants injury report: Daniel Jones back taking first-team reps

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones (ankle) was back at practice on Wednesday and taking first-team reps for the first time since Week 13.

The New York Giants returned to practice on Wednesday ahead of a Week 16 matchup with the Washington Redskins, and as expected, all eyes were on rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.

Will he play on Sunday or will Eli Manning get one more start?

While head coach Pat Shurmur has been relatively coy about that, the belief is that Jones will be ready to play after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 13. And if Wednesday morning was any indication, that would be a solid bet.

During the portion of practice that was open to the media, Jones was on the field stretching with his teammates and then proceeded to take snaps from center Jon Halapio — a sure indication that DJ is nearing a return.

Meanwhile, offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler (ankle) also did some work during the open portion of practice, which is obviously good news for the Giants despite Nick Gates playing well in his absence.

Finally, neither safety Antoine Bethea nor right tackle Nate Solder were at practice. Both players were excused for personal reasons — Bethea’s wife had their baby and Solder was with his son.

Wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who welcomed his second child on Tuesday, was at practice and participating.

When the Giants release their official injury report with designations, we will update it below.

Full participant:

Limited participant:

Did not participate:

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Giants’ Sterling Shepard, wife welcome second child: ‘Our Christmas gift came early’

New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard and his wife, Chanel Iman, had a touch of Christmas magic on Tuesday with the arrival of baby No. 2.

When the New York Giants return to practice in East Rutherford on Wednesday morning, wide receiver Sterling Shepard may not be there.

That’s not because Shepard injured or in danger of missing Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins, but at the moment, he’s got his hands more than full.

That’s because Shepard and his wife, Chanel Iman, welcomed their second child, Cassie, on Tuesday in an early Christmas surprise.

The 29-year-old Iman and 26-year-old Shepard met in 2016 at Victor Cruz’s 30th birthday party and have been attached every since. They were married in March of 2018.

The pair welcomed their first daughter, Cali, in August of 2018.

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PFF: Sterling Shepard, Nick Gates highest-graded Giants in Week 15

New York Giants WR Sterling Shepard and OL Nick Gates were the team’s highest-graded players courtesy of PFF in Week 15.

The New York Giants finally broke their lengthy losing streak on Sunday, defeating the Miami Dolphins, 36-20, in what may turn out to be Eli Manning’s last ever game.

Unfortunately for Manning, who had three interceptions, he was not among the team’s highest-graded players courtesy of Pro Football Focus, although he should tip his cap to wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who was.

Shepard played exceptionally well after a rough start that included a brutal drop that not only cost the Giants a first down, but potentially cost the team points. However, he rounded nicely and became a critical target for Manning in the second half.

Manning should also tip his cap to reserve offensive lineman Nick Gates, who filled in for an injured Kevin Zeitler (ankle) and played above expectations — something he’s making a habit of.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Dalvtin Tomlinson stood out, each earning PFF grades of 82.

Lawrence got an addition shout-out in the ReFocused segment alongside rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker, who has placed noticeably better of late.

Rookie defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence had one of the best games of his young career against Miami. Lawrence collapsed the pocket on multiple times and wreaked havoc in the middle of the Dolphins offensive line. In addition, while he did not record a sack in the game, he made his presence felt in rushing the passer as well.

Rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker continued his recent form and played well against the Dolphins. Baker got the best of Miami wide receiver DeVante Parker and also made multiple pass breakups on the day.

A quality showing by several up-and-coming Giants in Week 15.

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