The Jets are patching together their wide receiver room, and they’re doing it with a familiar name.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, New York is signing veteran wideout Sterling Shepard to the practice squad after a stretch of injuries left the group thin. Shepard had spent eight days with the Houston Texans this summer before being released on Aug. 30.
The timing makes sense for the Jets. Backup Tim Patrick landed on injured reserve before the season opener with a groin injury, which will keep him out for at least four games. Then in Week 1, starting slot receiver Omar Cooper Jr. went down with an ankle sprain and is now considered “week-to-week.”
Shepard, 33, enters his 11th season in the league after the Giants took him 40th overall in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. He played eight seasons in New York, finishing with 372 catches for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns.
He spent the last two years with Tampa Bay, including a 2025 season in which he appeared in 13 games and caught 39 of 53 targets for 371 yards and one touchdown. He also had one drop, caught 5 of 11 contested targets, and forced five missed tackles.
What makes Shepard appealing here is the versatility. Last season, he split his routes almost evenly between the slot and the outside, running 49% from the slot and 51% out wide. That gives the Jets some flexibility while they wait on two very different injuries to clear up: Patrick, a bigger outside blocker, and Cooper, a slot YAC threat.
New York already turned to Isaiah Williams to finish out the season opener at slot receiver after Cooper exited against Tennessee.
As things stand heading into Week 2, the Jets have just four healthy wide receivers on the active roster: Williams, Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, and Arian Smith, who had a brutal drop on his only target. That leaves Shepard in position to be elevated for the Packers game if he’s healthy and ready with the playbook.
A practice squad player can be promoted three times in a season, so Shepard could cover the next three weeks without needing to be added to the active roster. If he appears in three games from the practice squad, the Jets would have to sign him to the active roster to get him back on the field again.
UPDATE (3:56 p.m. EST): The Jets also signed wide receiver Tyler Johnson to their practice squad, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. Johnson, 28, played in 12 games for New York last season.
The team also made additional roster moves, including signing CB Jordan Clark to the active roster off the practice squad. Clark will serve as a backup nickel/safety. The Jets also released LB Jaden Keller and OL Xavier…
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