Coach Pat Shurmur said after Monday's practice that he's optimistic Shepard will clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol and suit up Week 12 against the Bears, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

While Shepard remains in the protocol coming off the Giants' Week 11 bye, he took a notable step forward by participating in Monday's practice. The extent of his participation won't be known until the Giants release their first injury report of the week Wednesday, and Shepard still will need to gain clearance from an independent neurologist at some point if he's to return to action versus the Bears. Shepard has been diagnosed with two concussions this season and already experienced a setback while recovering from his latest head injury, so he'll likely have more of an uphill battle to gaining clearance this week than the other three players on the roster that are in the concussion protocol (Rhett Ellison, Janoris Jenkins and Nate Solder).