Sterling Shepard is back in the New York metro area, this time on the other side of MetLife Stadium with the New York Jets.
The 33-year-old wide receiver agreed Tuesday to join the Jets’ practice squad, according to multiple reports, after a brief training-camp stay with the Houston Texans.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo first reported the move.
“Back to Jersey for Sterling Shepard: The former Giants WR is signing with the Jets ’ practice squad, source says,” Garafolo wrote. “After a stint with the Texans in camp, Shepard heads to Florham Park … with Omar Cooper Jr. injured, the Jets brought in a few receivers for a workout today, including JuJu Smith-Schuster. Shepard lands the gig.”
The timing was no accident. Cooper, one of three first-round picks by the Jets in the 2026 draft, left Sunday’s season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans with an injury and is expected to miss time.
Veteran receiver Tim Patrick already was on injured reserve before that game, leaving the Jets thin at a position that has taken an early hit.
SNY Jets confirmed the signing. “The Jets are signing WR Sterling Shepard to their practice squad,” the account posted. “Shepard, the former Giant, has 4,800 career receiving yards and spent the last two seasons with the Buccaneers.”
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic called it a notable add given the injury picture.
“That’s an interesting one: Sterling Shepard to the Jets practice squad with Omar Cooper expected to miss some time,” he wrote.
Shepard spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Giants after they selected him in the second round, 40th overall, out of Oklahoma in the 2016 draft. New York later signed him to a four-year, $41 million extension before the 2019 season.
In 90 regular-season games with the Giants, he caught 372 passes for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was a reliable slot option and a popular figure in the locker room even as injuries piled up later in his Giants tenure.
He then spent two seasons in Tampa Bay. Combined over 2024 and 2025, Shepard had 71 receptions for 705 yards and two touchdowns. Last year he appeared in 13 games for the Buccaneers and finished with 39 catches for 371 yards and one score.
Houston signed Shepard on Aug. 22 after a workout and released him eight days later. The Jets then brought him in for a look alongside other available receivers, including Smith-Schuster.
Career totals now stand at 443 receptions for 4,800 yards and 25 receiving touchdowns in 117 games. He also has 274 rushing yards and one rushing score.
For a player who once seemed likely to spend his entire career in Giants blue, the next chapter is a short drive from the old building. The Jets play at home in Week 2 and could use a familiar face who already knows the stadium, the weather and the week-to-week grind of a New York season.
Whether Shepard is elevated immediately or spends time on the practice squad first, the signing gives the Jets a veteran who has produced when called on and has shown he can still work the middle of the field.
Shepard has never been the biggest or fastest receiver in a room. What he has offered, from East Rutherford to Tampa and now Florham Park, is reliability, route polish and a willingness to fill whatever role is available.
That is the profile the Jets were shopping for after an opening week that left them short-handed at receiver.
