Pro Football Talk is reporting that New York Giants safety Kenny Phillips, who has talked confidently all week about returning from a knee injury, will not play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Phillips had been listed as questionable, but had practiced all week and had expressed the belief that he would play Sunday for the first time since being injured in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
This is what Phillips said earlier in the week:
"I'm going this week," Phillips said. "I do feel confident in my knee. It's been a long, long process. I feel like it's good enough for me to get back out there and make some plays."
Apparently, he was overly optimistic.
That means Stevie Brown, reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week and the NFL leader in takeaways with seven, will carry the full load at safety along with Antrel Rolle.
More significantly, perhaps, is how this impacts the Giants' coverage schemes overall. Middle linebacker Chase Blackburn is out, as are outside linebackers Jacquian Williams and Keith Rivers.
We will have to wait for the official inactives to confirm exactly who is in and who is out, but this changes the Giants' plans.