Hakeem Nicks says he's ready to play Sunday for Giants

Hakeem Nicks ran some routes with the scout team on Wednesday, his first full practice with the Giants since re-signing with the team last week. But he was quick to point out that he also worked with the regular Giants offense.

"I came to play, now," he said. "I came to play, I promise."

Whether or not that happens this Sunday in Washington is a little less certain. Tom Coughlin said Nicks would be watched closely in these practices to determine his readiness.

"We're going to have to find that out," Coughlin said when asked if it is realistic for Nicks to become an immediate contributor. "That's what this week's practice is all about. We'll have him on scout team doing a lot of things so that we can see how he plays in that regard. And then we'll have to judge how fast he comes along with learning. The experience, etc., will help him but, nevertheless, it's a different offense."

Nicks said he's doing just fine in that regard.

"As long as I'm getting everything down verbal-wise and spending time with Eli, I'll be good," he said.

And Manning said Nicks has looked good in the two workouts they have shared (Nicks participated in Monday's abbreviated practice).

"He looks like he's running well, grasping the offense," the quarterback said. "We've just got to be smart and put him in there, make sure he knows what he can do so we can put him out there and play fast. He was running some routes and there's obviously certain routes we've thrown many times and [I] read his body language and go over things. I think he's picked up things pretty quickly and hopefully he can come in and help us out."

On Sunday?

"I know I can be ready," Nicks said, "but that's not my decision to make. That's up to the coaches and the higher-ups."

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.