Tuck now says he'll likely play Monday

Justin Tuck was at Central Park East Middle School on Tuesday giving out copies of his new book to students and promoting his RUSH for Literacy initiative.

Still, it's hard to get a read on what the defensive end is thinking about playing on Monday.

A day after he said in a radio interview that progress on his injured neck had become "stagnant" and gave himself a "50-50" chance to play against the Rams, Tuck said he is feeling better.

"I don't see how I will not play on Monday," he said.

But at the same time, he told reporters that there is still irritation in the area where he suffered a stinger more than two weeks ago, and he will have to be cleared by team doctors before he goes back on the field.

Tuck said an MRI showed that there is no structural damage to his neck and that the problem is muscular. Still, he seems spooked by recent neck injuries in the league to players such as Peyton Manning and close friend Mathias Kiwanuka. Although doctors have told him that his injury is not close to the ones they had, Tuck ominously said he would prefer to risk missing one or two games now rather than a month, a season, or even a career.

Tuck said he would like to practice in pads before he plays and get that first hit out of the way, but he did not rule out playing against the Rams without practicing this week.

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On Sunday, Tuck missed the first game since he had foot surgery in 2006 and the Giants lost to the Redskins.