Shepard (concussion) will take contact during Wednesday's practice, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.
Shepard has been working through the league's five-step protocol since suffering his second diagnosed concussion of the season Week 5. He's been a limited participant in practice the last two weeks, but his ability to absorb contact Wednesday suggests he could be listed as a full participant in the Giants' first injury report of Week 9, which will be released Thursday. Even if Shepard upgrades to full participation, he'll still need to receive clearance from an independent neurologist later this week in order to play in games, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Shepard isn't a lock to be removed from the protocol in time for Monday's tilt with the Cowboys.