After he filled a depth role for the team in 2024, wide receiver Sterling Shepard will be returning to the Bucs in 2025 on another one-year deal. Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht broke the news himself on Friday afternoon.
Shepard played with Baker Mayfield in college at Oklahoma. In 2015, the two formed an electric connection with Shepard catching 86 passes for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns. That season, Mayfield threw for 3,699 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Shepard was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent eight years in New York before leaving last season. Mayfield spent two more years in Oklahoma, eventually winning the Heisman Trophy before getting drafted first overall in 2018 by the Cleveland Browns.
Shepard Reunited With Baker Mayfield Last Year
Bucs Wr Sterling Shepard
Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: USA Today
The Bucs contacted Shepard last offseason when it looked like he may step away from football at the behest of Baker Mayfield. After finding out the veteran wide receiver was still in great shape, the team signed him to its practice squad as a depth option for a receiving corps that was very young past their top two options.
“It’s hard not to smile right now. I wasn’t expecting this,” Shepard told NFL insider Josina Anderson at the time. “Three days ago Baker texted me asking ‘How does your body feel?’ I said, ‘I feel great. How’s the baby?’ Baker said, ‘The baby is good.’
“Then Baker asked me, ‘Man, you think you got one more in you?’ I said, ‘It just has to be right with everything I’ve got going on with my family because I’ve already turned down other opportunities. But I’ve been kind of thinking about it when I run outside everyday and lift.”
Ultimately, Shepard played in 15 games this past season including the playoffs, catching 32 passes for 334 yards and one touchdown. He wound up running the third-most routes of all Bucs’ receivers for the season.
While rookie Jalen McMillan took time to develop into a reliable option late in the season, Shepard was a consistent route runner who Mayfield and the offense could count on. His best stretch was between Week 13 and Week 14 when he caught eight of 13 targets for 105 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per route run.
Sterling Shepard’s Role With The Bucs Going Forward
Bucs Wr Sterling Shepard
Bucs WR Sterling Shepard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
At this stage of his career, Shepard can only be considered a high-floor depth option. With McMillan’s late-season ascension, Mike Evans’ continuing his ageless wonder actand Chris Godwin’s return, the Bucs have their starting options set for 2025.
As of now, Shepard will compete with Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett and Kameron Johnson for a spot at the back end of the Bucs’ depth chart, and his roster spot is most likely not guaranteed, especially if Tampa Bay adds another young receiver through the 2025 NFL Draft.
For his career, Shepard has 404 catches for 4,429 yards and 24 touchdowns while averaging 11.0 yards per catch.