The Athletic takes a closer look at Hype Man Shep

Sterling Shepard is the longest-tenured player on the Giants. After suffering a season-ending achilles injury last year, Shepard worked hard all offseason to get back on the field for the season opener. This made his Week 3, season-ending ACL injury even tougher to watch.

But less than a week alater, Shepard was right there on the sideline, cheering on his teammates as they defeated the Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium.

While some players choose to step away from their respective team following a serious injury, Shepard has done the opposite. The 29-year-old wide receiver has fully embraced his new role as the ultimate hype man for his teammates. While he obviously would rather be out there helping the Giants win, Shepard is glad that he's still spending a lot of time around the team.

"I just try to stay around stuff that makes me happy, and these guys make me happy," Shepard told Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic.

At numerous times throughout the season, Shepard was spotted on camera going crazy following a big play, such as his reaction following Darius Slayton's big catch against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving below. When the Big Blue defense is on the field at MetLife Stadium for a third down, the veteran can often be spotted standing on top of a bench waving a towel, trying to get the crowd up and out of their seats.

As Carroll wrote, "Save his surgery-related absence, the 2016 draft pick hasn't left his post on the Giants' sideline. The team's longest-tenured player has stuck around New York, with his daughters in town, and stayed plugged in for the Giants' playoff push. Never mind the season-ending injury, his second in less than a year. Shepard remains one of his teammates' biggest fans and calls their games the "highlight" of his week. As he nears 30 years old, his plan is to soak up all the football days he can — even if he's not suiting up."

"It's really awesome to have that energy on the sideline and know you can count on him for that type of energy," Leonard Williams told Carroll.

"Regardless of his situation, he still got our backs 100 percent, cheering us on. That's an ideal teammate, locker mate," Adoree' Jackson added.

Over the last month or so, Shepard has been seen wearing t-shirts supporting several of his teammates, including Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Dexter Lawrence and Williams.

"Those shirts are really awesome," Williams said. "I told him, 'Bro, I need like 20 of those.'"

Giants Huddle | FOX Sports' Jonathan Vilma

Former NFL Linebacker and current Fox NFL Analyst, Jonathan Vilma, joins the show to discuss the Giants vs Commanders matchup, chat about what has been working for the Giants, and highlight the Commanders strengths this season.

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00:38 - Giants offense

08:08 - Giants defense

13:30 - Commanders defense

19:17 - Commanders offense