The New York Giants will welcome back a familiar face on Sunday when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Sterling Shepard, who spent the first eight years of his career with the Giants, will face off against his former team for the first time.
The biggest storyline of the week is, of course, the Giants benching of Daniel Jones and turning to Tommy DeVito at quarterback — a face Shepard is familiar with from last season.
Shepard has warned his teammates, that DeVito is not someone who should be taken lightly:
Sterling Shepard has been telling his Buccaneers teammates that Tommy DeVito is not someone that they can take lightly this Sunday
"I love Tommy…he's a great dude" pic.twitter.com/5X0SPn81w4
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) November 21, 2024
“I mean, I love Tommy, man. He’s definitely a very energetic guy, he’s very confident,” Shepard said. “That’s the reason I’ve been telling these guys, it’s not somebody that we can take lightly. He’s going to go out there with confidence and play his type of style ball. So, yeah, other than that, he’s a great dude and that was a time to be around, for sure.”
Like the Giants, Shepard and the Buccaneers, are trying to snap a losing streak of their own on Sunday. Shepard has 16 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown so far this season. It will be interesting to see his workload on Sunday with Mike Evans trending toward a return.
Both Shepard and the Giants knew that his time in New York was reaching its end during the final weeks of last season. Still, he will get a warm welcome from Giants fans Sunday.
The Giants are hoping to get a spark by starting DeVito on Sunday, just as he provided last season and Shepard is certainly making sure his team is aware of what DeVito brings to the table.