88 Hakeem Nicks, WR

Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks said he's happy to be a Giant "right now" but that he does "understand the business side of football." In a Q&A with the New York Post, Nicks talked about a lot of things including his future with the team, hinting that he's not promising a return to the team after this season when his contract runs out. He said he's focused only on the 2013 season. 

Nicks also said he did promise coach Tom Coughlin he would attend voluntary OTA workouts but skipped them because he didn't want to open himself up to injury. Nicks broke his foot at OTA workouts last year. The receiver said he did apologize to his coach. 

"At the end of the day, there's stuff that's mandatory and there's things that are not mandatory," he said. "From my eyes, anytime you can let your body rest [is good]. Football is a physical sport, and it's a long season, too. Anytime you can let your body rest, I feel like that's always a blessing."

The New York Post reports that Giants coach Tom Coughlin said receiver Hakeem Nicks has work to do after missing OTA workouts. "Well he’s definitely not in tune with where we are," Coughlin said Tuesday. "We’ve had nine OTAs, and we’ve thrown a lot at them. I mean, he’s just had one meeting. If he's around he’ll pick it up quick, he’ll get it fast.''

Giants punter Steve Weatherford posted a picture of Hakeem Nicks in the team's locker room on the first day of mandatory minicamp Tuesday, meaning he arrived for the start of the program. Nicks skipped the team's previous offseason workouts, likely because he was unhappy with the direction of his contract negotiations. Nicks is entering a contract year in 2013 and is also coming off of arthroscopic knee surgery. The New York Daily News reports that Nicks plans to be a full participant at the start of training camp in late July.

Newsday reports quarterback Eli Manning expects receiver Hakeem Nicks to attend the Giants' mandatory minicamp this week after skipping voluntary OTA practices previously. Nicks is entering the final year of his contract and reportedly missed the voluntary workouts because he's unhappy with the Giants' effort to give him a long-term deal.

NFL Network says there's a "sense" in the Giants locker room that receiver Hakeem Nicks will attend mandatory minicamp next week. If he's not there he'll be fined for each day he skips. Nicks has skipped offseason workouts with the team, though those are considered voluntary. He's entering a contract year and is interested in an extension; some think he's missing the workouts in protest of not getting a new deal. When asked by ESPN if he was skipping because of his contract, agent Peter Schaffer said "It's a great day to be alive."