The Giants' offense was without WR Sterling Shepard for the fourth straight week this past Monday, as he continued to battle back from his second concussion of the season.

That wasn't supposed to be the case, though, when an independent doctor cleared Shepard from concussion protocol after he practiced all of last week.

It wasn't until the Giants released a statement on Sunday, where head coach Pat Shurmur said Shepard informed the team late Saturday night that he wasn't feeling well. They though it was best to put him back in the protocol after he ultimately felt the same on Sunday.

"He practiced fully this week and was limited with no contact the two weeks before that," said Shurmur. "He told (Sr. VP Medical Services/Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie (Barnes) last evening (Saturday) he didn't feel well and was sent for examination and evaluation. When he arrived for work this morning, he still did not feel well. At that point, the decision was made to continue in the concussion protocol."

And as Shurmur spoke on Tuesday, he didn't have any updates about Shepard's progress.

"I really don't have much to add," he said. "We released a statement, but he just didn't feel well and we were really made aware of it Saturday night. So this is a serious injury and, in my mind, it requires a serious response. We want to make sure he's well when he goes back out there."

Shepard has suffered two concussions in only the first five weeks of the season. His latest came against the Vikings in Week 5, and the first was Week 1 against the Cowboys.

Normally, players who suffer concussions need a week or two to recover. But even though Shepard was practicing for weeks -- including a full contact practice participant all of this past week -- the symptoms are still there.

In that regard, Shurmur was asked if it was a possibility for Shepard to get shut down for the rest of the season.

"I think we've got to use good judgment and we need to be very deliberate about guys coming back from injuries such as this," he said. "There's signs and there's things that, as they go through coming back from concussions, they certainly go through the protocol. But there's also the activity and how they respond to it and all that. So, at some point, we have to use our gut."

Shepard signed a four-year, $41 million extension prior to the start of the season, and the Giants obviously want him to make the best of those years.

Playing it safe, especially if the season keeps slipping away after the Giants' fifth straight loss on Monday night, could be the right call to make.

But Shurmur did note that he isn't concerned that Shepard will need to miss the rest of the season. He's seen how he's practiced and how he was responding to full workloads leading up to gameday this past Monday.

At the end of the day, though, making sure his players are not only prepared for games but are healthy is a top priority for Shurmur.

"Player safety is certainly on the frontburner for us," he said.

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