The exact nature of Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks’ groin/abdominal injury isn’t clear, but he was listed as a limited participant in practice on Thursday and Friday this week and designated as questionable to play against the Cowboys.
Nicks himself was very confident about his chances of playing, though, and assured reporters that he’d be out there for the game. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption on the receiver’s part. Nicks was inactive for the game, which the Giants lost 24-21, and didn’t offer any insight into the reversal when asked about not playing by reporters after the game.
“I don’t really have nothing to say to ya’ll right now,” Nicks said, via Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Coach Tom Coughlin said, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, in his press conference that Nicks didn’t play because he didn’t practice all week. That’s a little bit odd since, as pointed out above, the Giants said that Nicks did practice during the week. Coughlin may have just been exaggerating how limited Nicks was during practices, but the offense didn’t look any worse (or better, for that matter) with Rueben Randle in Nicks’ spot so they may also just be taking a look to the future before Nicks becomes a free agent.