Giants WR Sterling Shepard diagnosed with low ankle sprain

EAST RUTHERFORD — Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard was carted off the field after suffering an ankle injury during Wednesday's practice.

The initial diagnosis was a low ankle sprain, according to a team source.

"A basketball-type ankle [injury]," head coach Ben McAdoo said. "But we’ll see how he responds to treatment and go from there."

The Giants have to hope Shepard's ankle injury is a minor one.

The second-year receiver is considered one of Eli Manning's top targets, alongside Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. Shepard is expected to mostly line up in the slot.

Shepard caught 65 passes for 683 yards and eight touchdowns last season. 

But Shepard's injury Wednesday did open up some reps for other players. Darius Powe and Tavarres King both had impressive showings during team drills. 

"When someone goes down, the next man stands up and we work as hard we can behind the scenes to get the player healthy," McAdoo said.

Rest day for JPP

Three years have passed since Jason Pierre-Paul last played a full 16-game season.

So when the coaching staff approached the veteran defensive end and told him he would be getting a rest day Wednesday, Pierre-Paul took the advice. He left his shoulder pads in the locker room and spent much of the first fully padded practice of training camp observing.

Make no mistake: Pierre-Paul wanted to practice, but he also sees the forest through the gridiron trees.

"It’s been a while [since he played a full 16-game season], but leading up to it I have been playing well, but the main thing for me is to stay healthy and I feel like what coach did [Wednesday] was a big help as much as I wanted to be out there with my teammates," PIerre-Paul said. "Just sitting on the sidelines and seeing things, I know exactly what is going to happen. And if that person doesn’t do it, it just makes me know that I know the game mentally and I can just sit back and watch and focus on what I need to do right."

Part of McAdoo's reasoning: the GPS tools the Giants use to track performance in practice of the players indicated Pierre-Paul could benefit from rest. So instead of pushing Pierre-Paul out there, the Giants held him. He expects to return to the practice field today.

"Jason wanted to practice," McAdoo said. "We sat down and we talked about it. I told him to keep attacking every day like he does and keep attacking it, go out and practice and then play at a high level and it’s our job to make sure we take a look at the big picture."

Sights and sounds

Undrafted rookie FB Shane Smith continues to impress, taking advantage of the first full day of pads and flashing plenty of physicality during team drills. ... WR Dwayne Harris (shoulder) returned to practice. RB Shane Vereen and DE Devin Taylor worked on the side with the training staff for the second consecutive day with lower body soreness. Rookie G Jessamen Dunker left practice with a foot injury and did not return.

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