New York Giants tight end Kevin Boss will miss Sunday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts with a concussion.
Although he wouldn't comment Wednesday on the severity of the concussion, Giants coach Tom Coughlin ruled Boss out of the next game.
"I think they are just trying to be conservative about it," said Boss, who has sustained three concussions since December 2008. "They don't want to have one of those things where I get concussed in back-to-back weeks, and then I am stuck missing a big chunk of time."
Boss said he has had headaches but nothing so severe that he believed he needed to go to head athletic trainer Ronnie Barnes for help.
Boss was hurt on the Giants' opening drive Sunday when Carolina Panthers safety Sherrod Martin hit him in the back of the neck. Boss was on the ground after failing to catch a pass when the hit happened.
Coughlin and Boss were upset that a penalty wasn't called because the NFL is trying to stop hits on defenseless receivers.
Boss, who was taken off the field on a cart, said this concussion dazed him a little more than his previous ones, making it harder for him to get back to his feet this time.
He noted that he has never blacked out after sustaining a concussion, which he said makes him lucky.
"I was twisting Ronnie's arm on Sunday to let me get back out there," Boss said. "I felt once I got back on my feet and back in the locker room and took a few moments, I felt good enough to get back out there. It's hard for me to listen to them tell me I could not go back out there and for him to tell me I can't play this week. As a competitor, it's a tough pill to swallow, but I appreciate they are looking out for me."
Travis Beckum will start for Boss. The Giants signed tight end Bear Pascoe off their practice squad Tuesday.
"I'm just hoping I can fill Boss' shoes and do as good a job as he did," said Pascoe, who played four regular-season games with the Giants last season and was in training camp with them this summer.
Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who caught three touchdown passes Sunday, didn't practice because of an ankle injury. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee) also missed practice, along with special-teams captain Chase Blackburn (knee), linebacker Phillip Dillard (hamstring) and cornerback Bruce Johnson (knee).
Backup safety Michael Johnson was out for personal reasons.
Umenyiora is suffering from "wear and tear" on his surgically repaired left knee, Giants coach Tom Coughlin told the *New York Daily News*. Coughlin expects Umenyiora to practice Thursday, as he does Nicks, who rolled an ankle during Sunday's victory over the Panthers.
Cornerback Aaron Ross, who returned to practice last week for the first time since suffering a foot injury in an Aug. 21 preseason game, practiced without limitations. His return would help the Giants' secondary against Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receivers Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and tight end Dallas Clark.
Linebacker Gerris Wilkinson also returned to practice.
Backup offensive tackle Will Beatty is scheduled to have surgery Thursday to repair a broken right foot sustained Sunday. Veteran guard Shawn Andrews has taken over as the backup tackle.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
