Sterling Shepard activated from I.R., will do pre-game drills Thursday to see if he can play

Thursday PM update: The Giants have activated Shepard off IR, making him eligible for Week 7 Thursday Night Football, per Art Stapleton. He’ll go through pre-game drills to see if he’s ready.

UPDATE: Sterling Shepard is close to returning, as he’s come off I.R. and will practice Tuesday, per Paul Schwartz. With the short turnaround for Thursday night, he still might have trouble being a full go, but it appears his turf toe is no longer an issue.

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is close to returning from his turf toe injury, per coach Joe Judge. Judge says that Shepard is “a little closer” than last week and his status could come down to pre-game warmups Thursday night when they take on the Eagles.

Shepard has only played in two games and caught eight passes for 76 yards. In his absence, sophomore receiver Darius Slayton has played extremely well, catching a touchdown last week and going for 129 yards the previous week. Shepard will cut into Slayton’s targets, but I doubt we see Slayton get relegated to a poor workload.