Seeing pal Odell Beckham Jr. at the Giants’ facility earlier this week “meant a lot” to Sterling Shepard.
Speaking from the locker room on Wednesday, the longtime Giants receiver — who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3 against the Cowboys — opened up about the visit from his old teammate, who played for New York from 2014-18.
“It meant a lot to me. I mean, that’s one of my brothers,” the 29-year-old Shepard said. “He’s done that a number of times flying from wherever he is. He was in the Bahamas, but he wanted to come see me and I was happy to see his face. Hadn’t seen him in a while, so, it was great seeing him.”
Shepard arrived in New York in 2016, two years after the Giants selected Beckham, also 29, in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Beckham was later traded to the Browns in early 2019 after five seasons in New York. He landed with the Rams last November and went on to win a Super Bowl with the team earlier this year.
Beckham is currently a free agent as he continues to work his way back from an ACL tear sustained in February’s Super Bowl victory against the Bengals.
Beckham’s visit on Monday was strictly Shepard-centric, according to The Post’s Paul Schwartz, and not an official visit with the team.
As for Shepard, who returned to the Giants this season on a restructured one-year deal, he has no imminent plans to retire following the recent injury.
“I’m a fighter. I want to go out on my own terms. I don’t want something like this to make me go out. So, I’m going to fight to get my body back to where I can perform and get this thing good,” he said.
Shepard, the longest-tenured player on the Giants, was sidelined late last season following a non-contact torn Achilles.