Amidst multiple injuries to their wide receiver unit, the New York Jets are bringing in some veteran insurance.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Jets are signing former New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard to their practice squad.
Shepard spent eight days with the Houston Texans this summer, but was released on Aug. 30.
The Jets’ wide receiver unit is banged up. Before the season opener, backup Tim Patrick was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury, which will keep him out for at least four games. Then, in Week 1, starting slot receiver Omar Cooper Jr. suffered an ankle sprain, which has him on a “week-to-week” status moving forward.
Shepard, 33, is in his 11th season after being chosen 40th overall by the Giants in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. Across eight seasons with the Giants, Shepard caught 372 passes for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns.
The Oklahoma City native spent the last two seasons with the Buccaneers. In 2025, Shepard played in 13 games, catching 39 of his 53 targets (73.6%) for 371 yards (9.5 yards per reception) and one touchdown. He had one drop (2.5% drop rate), caught 5 of 11 contested targets (45.5%), and forced five missed tackles.
Shepard can provide depth for the Jets in any alignment. Last season in Tampa Bay, Shepard ran 49% of his routes from the slot and 51% from out wide. That will be helpful, as the injuries to Patrick (big-bodied blocker on the outside) and Cooper (YAC weapon from the slot) give the Jets two different short-term vacancies to fill.
Cooper was replaced by Isaiah Williams in the slot for the remainder of New York’s season opener against Tennessee.
Going into Week 2, the Jets only have four healthy wide receivers on their active roster: Williams, Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and Arian Smith, who had a brutal drop on his only target. It seems likely that Shepard will be elevated from the practice squad for the team’s Week 2 game against the Packers if he is healthy and up to speed with the playbook.
A player can be promoted from the practice squad up to three times in a season. With Cooper sidelined on a week-to-week basis, Shepard can cover for them from the practice squad for the next three weeks without being signed to the active roster. If Shepard plays three games from the practice squad, the Jets would have to sign him to the active roster for him to play again.
UPDATE (3:56 p.m. EST): The Jets have also signed wide receiver Tyler Johnson to their practice squad, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. Johnson, 28, played in 12 games for the Jets last season.
