Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive guard Carl Nicks missed the final nine games of the 2012 NFL season with a toe injury. The permanent injury is something Nicks plans to deal with, which means he now must turn his attention to getting ready for the regular season. That includes seeing some action in Tampa Bay’s next preseason game.
“I will have to deal with it my whole life,” Nicks said, according to JoeBucksFan.com. “Honestly, it is not 100 percent, yet. I plan on playing some this next preseason game and obviously, the third one. We’ll see how it goes.”
Obviously, the 28-year-old is hoping to play because he simply needs to get some real game time under his belt to knock the rust off.
“I think I’m going to play this week,” Nicks said, according to the Washington Post. “I’ve got to get some live action on the toe.”
Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano is confident that Nicks will be able to suit up on Friday night. However, if the guard has any pain, or the coaches simply believe he should not play, there is no way he will get into the game.
“Carl’s going to come and if everything goes well, Carl should take some plays Friday night,” Schiano said, according to the Washington Post. “We’ll see if that comes off or not, depending on how he feels after practice.”
Tampa Bay will need a big season out of the former All-Pro if they want to do some damage in the NFC South. Hopefully, he will be able to gear up in time for the regular season and do his part to help the team win.
