It will be an emotional reunion for Sterling Shepard, who will play at MetLife Stadium without a Giants uniform on Sunday for the first time.
Shepherd, a 31-year-old receiver, currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after spending eight seasons with the Giants. He appeared in 90 games with the Giants, catching 372 passes for 4,095 yards and 23 TDs.
With the Bucs this season, Shepard has recorded 16 receptions, averaging 10.4 yards and one TD.
His former teammates and coaches know exactly what to expect from Shepard.
“It's the same thing we saw here: his juice, his energy, his passion to play, his dog-like mentality,” Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said Friday. “He comes at you all day long. He's just one of those dirty guys who fights hard on every play, in a good way. That's what you like about Shep.
“Our young players have to be ready every play for this guy to come in and fight you guys. This guy's not going to be in the playoffs. It's going to be his first time back home so he's going to be even more motivated. You want to come out here and have a good game and be productive. It's going to be a battle all day long with him.”
Mike Groh, Shepard's former receivers coach with the Giants, smiled Friday when asked about Shepard.
“It's probably emotional for him to come back to his hometown where you spent so much time,” Groh said. “I have a lot of respect for Shep and everything he accomplished here as a Giant. He was a great leader and how respected he was by the coaching staff in this building, in this organization, in the locker room.
“The way he approaches his job and the attitude he brings to the team every day is inspiring. He's an energy multiplier and obviously a great player.”
When asked what it would be like to meet the players he has coached for years, Groh said: They are trying to bring us down. We are trying to defeat them. I'm sure I'll be able to meet him beforehand and hopefully give him a big hug afterwards. ”
One of Shepard's running mates in Big Blue, Giants receiver Darius Slayton, praised his friend's time playing in Tampa Bay.
“I think he's doing a great job,” Slayton said Friday. “He's obviously been playing good ball the last few weeks, showing he still has energy left in him.”
When the Giants chose not to re-sign Shepard, many thought he would not want to play for another team and call it a career.
“Yeah, we knew he still had some juice in the tank, but the NFL is a youth sport, and of course everyone's going to get old at some point,” Slayton said.
Slayton said seeing Shepherd on Sunday “will be like a family reunion, like meeting a cousin you haven't seen in a long time.” [or] A buddy I met for the first time in a while. I look forward to seeing him before the game and of course during the game.”
Slayton then added with a smile: “I hope he plays badly.”
