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Should the New York Giants Start Hakeem Nicks in Final Preseason Game?

The New York Giants play the New England Patriots in the final preseason game, which is typically meant for the second string or lower players to make their final push for a roster spot. With the NFL deadline to get to 53 players coming up on Friday at 9 pm ET, this will be an audition for many players.

Hakeem Nicks is not one of those players, so why are the Giants looking to get him snaps in the last, meaningless preseason game? Well, mostly because Nicks missed essentially the entire preseason with a broken foot. The Giants apparently want to get him some live snaps in order to get back into game shape.

“I’m supposed to be able to take some live snaps this week, that’s what coach told me when I asked him yesterday,” said Nicks. “The doctors said the same thing, so that’s what I look forward to doing. I can’t wait to get some live action, knowing somebody’s gonna be hitting me after I catch the ball, so that’s what I look forward to. In practice, ain’t nobody touching you. Being able to catch the ball, have to make a move and really turn it on a little bit before you actually have to play in the season-opener is good.”

I get it. The Giants want to make sure he’s ready for the game on September 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, and Nicks wants to make sure he doesn’t take his first real hit in that game. But with all the injuries piling up for the Giants, and the history they’ve had in recent years with losing players in the preseason, I cannot help but think the Giants should play it safe on this one.

Don’t forget that this is the final preseason game and not all of the starters are going to be playing, if at all. It remains to be seen whether the first group is going to play, but they are playing it safe with most of the other players in practice, so it seems like they will do the same for the game tomorrow night.

Tom Coughlin should rest Nicks. It is a long season and it is not worth losing him just to get him ready for the opener.

 

Jeff is an NFL Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. He contributes mainly to the New York Giants and NFL Rumors pages. He also will occasionally touch on the NBA and humorous videos involving all sports.

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