Evan Engram Declared Out of Monday's Game

Early week optimism faded as Engram was unable to get over the hump toward getting cleared to return.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The debut of the Giants' key offensive skill position players as a group will have to wait yet another week.

Tight end Evan Engram, will miss his fourth straight game with a sprained foot injury suffered on November 4 against Dallas.

Engram, who initially hoped his injury wouldn't keep him out of action more than a couple of games, has actually now been dealing with the sprain for five weeks, including the bye. 

He had practiced on a limited basis earlier in the week, which had the team hopeful that he'd be able to come back in time for Eli Manning's first game back since being benched for Daniel Jones in Week 3, but that won't be the case.

"It sucks. I was really excited about this week," Engram told reporters after Saturday's practice. 

"I felt really good at the beginning of the week, felt really good in my rehab prior to the week. As the week went by, I just wasn’t ready. I made some progress but I’m not ready."

Engram said he didn't have a setback in his recovery but did admit that the healing hasn't gone as rapidly as he hoped.

"For what I’m asked to do, it requires a lot of explosiveness and obviously cutting," he said. "That was kind of the deciding factor. That’s why I wasn’t really ready in that aspect."

Sign up for our free newsletter and get breaking Giants news, notes, and more delivered to your inbox!

Engram said he was looking forward to having at least one last chance to play with Manning when the Giants visit the Eagles Monday night.

"Personally, that’s what hurts the most about not getting out there," he said. "I was excited about the opportunity to get back out there with Eli and it sucks." 

But the good news is that Engram won't need surgery, though he also admitted that the healing process has taken much longer than initially anticipated.   

"These injuries are really tricky," he said. "From what they told me, the joint and the ligament requires a lot in the foot, so it’s a little tricky. Like I said, keep working at it and stay the course."

So does that mean he'll be back at some point before the end of the season?

"I’m going to try my best," he said. "I was real optimistic about this week and it didn’t work out. Like I said, just going to keep staying the course. Keep doing everything I can with the training staff and get back out there whenever I can."

In addition to Engram and Jones (ankle), tight end Rhett Ellison (concussion) and cornerback Corey Ballentine (concussion) have been declared out. 

This will be Ellison's third straight game missed since suffering the concussion against the Jets on Nov. 10, and Ballentine's third missed game of the season--he missed Weeks 7 and 8 earlier this year with his first concussion of the season.