New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard went down with a torn ACL during the Week 3 loss vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Shepard's injury was particularly worrisome given there was no contact when his knee gave out. Instead, Shepard was simply running a route when his ACL tore, and now the Giants receiver has explained what he thinks went wrong. Via Mike Garafolo, Shepard admitted that he thinks he tore his ACL a couple of plays earlier, but didn't realize until he collapsed on the field.

“It was really weird. I think it actually partially tore it probably like two plays before that. I think I partially tore it. I kind of got up and my knee did something funny. I was just like ‘Forget about it and keep on pushing.' The next play actually got blown dead, which in hindsight I'm kind of happy about because I was about to have to stick off my left and hard cut. And the next play I was literally just jogging, and I'm sure you guys saw it. It just slid on me and popped.”

Media members asked Shepard if he thought that the Cowboys' playing field had anything to do with the injury. Shepard didn't play too much into that. While he admitted he preferred playing on grass over turf, the Giants wide receiver didn't seem to think the playing surface was responsible for his torn ACL.

Shepard's ACL tear is a big blow for the 29-year-old wide receiver, who hasn't played a full slate of 16 games since the 2018 season. Last year, Shepard's season ended after just seven games when he sustained a torn Achilles tendon. He managed just three games in 2022 before the knee injury ended his season.

During his short sample this year, Sterling Shepard recorded 13 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown.