Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks spent long stretches of this season looking like he wasn’t interested in helping the Giants offense all that much, but he said Friday that the Giants know he’s hopeful he can return to the team in 2014.
Nicks is set to become a free agent when the season officially comes to an end and said that he expects contract talks to start between the team and his representatives next week. When those talks start, Nicks said that his decision will be “bigger” than just the amount of money on the table.
“Players, coaches, the organization,” Nicks said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “That’s just something I want to make sure I look at. I don’t want to get myself in a situation where there’s a lot going on. This organization is great stability wise. You don’t want too many changes going on here. I like how they’re always looking out for a player’s best interest and things like that.”
Nicks didn’t balk when asked about the possibility of the Giants using the franchise tag on him, which isn’t particularly surprising. The tag offers wideouts a one-year salary of more than $10 million, which is likely more than Nicks can hope to receive coming off a disappointing season.
Nicks hasn’t scored a touchdown and has caught just one pass in the red zone all year for a dysfunctional Giants offense. That’s not what anyone is looking for in a No. 1 receiver, so Nicks will be selling himself at a lower level than many anticipated heading into the season. His no-show this season may leave the Giants less interested in another year together, although the detriment Nicks did to his price tag this year could change the equation a bit.