Eli Manning: We need Hakeem Nicks to be successful
Hakeem Nicks can't come up with a pass in the end zone in the first quarter as Minnesota Vikings defensive back Xavier Rhodes defends him at MetLife Stadium. (Oct. 21, 2013) Credit: Jim McIsaac
With the NFL trading deadline at the end of the week, there is still uncertainty about what the Giants will do with Hakeem Nicks. Certainly there are contending teams that are in the market for a wide receiver – the Colts, Patriots, Falcons and Packers – and Nicks isn’t exactly a major contributor to the Giants’ offense these days. On Monday he was targeted 10 times and caught just two passes.
But Eli Manning said on WFAN that he would be opposed to trading the player who has caught more of his passes than anyone else.
“Obviously I don't want Hakeem to go,” Manning said in his weekly spot. “He’s been a big part of our success over the years, been a big part of our offense. A great friend of mine and a heck of a player. I don’t know what the Giants plan is, I don’t know what’s out there and what’s going on, but as far as I know he’s on this team and we need him to be on this team for us to have success.”
Had the Giants lost on Monday and sunk to 0-7 and four games out of first place, it might have been more reasonable for them to trade Nicks. Now, though, it would seem foolish to trade a player to a contending team when the Giants could, in fact, find themselves among the contending teams in short order.
“At this point we have to worry about ourselves and worry about winning games,” Manning said. “We have Philadelphia this week, which is a big division rival, and then we have a bye week after that. We’re looking at it as, hey, we have a one-game season right now, let’s go win this one, let’s go into the bye week with a little momentum and then after that we have a new season with the idea that we have to win a bunch of games. We’re not too far behind Dallas. We’re behind, but it’s not too far to make up.”
