It has not been the best of seasons for receiver Hakeem Nicks, who does not have a touchdown catch and for the past few weeks has heard rumors he was on the trading block.
“That’s what I think is going to drive him for the rest of the season,” Giants receivers coach Kevin M. Gilbride said Tuesday. “I think you’re going to see the plays being made. And this is my true belief in my heart, he’s getting closer and closer to erupting and making those huge plays that we’ve seen him make in the past.”
If so, he will make them for the Giants. The trading deadline came and went and Nicks did not go anywhere. This comes as no surprise. The Giants never shopped Nicks and general manager Jerry Reese never was interested in parting ways with his 2009 first-round draft pick, a player Reese hopes to re-sign when Nicks’ contract expires after the season.
“I did get some calls after it was reported that we were trying to trade him,’’ Reese said.
Those reports were based on speculation and not fact, and Reese never got anywhere close to a trade with the interested teams.
Hours before the 4 p.m. deadline, Reese used his standard “we keep all our options open” line when asked about dealing Nicks.
“It depends on what your circumstances are,” Reese said of potential deadline deals. “Under our circumstances, we have a chance to get back in the race, so that gives you a different feel of what you can do at the trade deadline.’’
Nicks last week admitted he heard the trade rumors and said they did not bother him. He went out against the Eagles and caught seven passes for 51 yards, though he once again failed to secure his first touchdown despite having two solid opportunities in the end zone. For the season, Nicks has 34 receptions for 521 yards. For the second half of the season he will not have to hear about getting traded.
“I really feel badly about that, to be honest with you,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said of the trade rumors, speaking Tuesday afternoon on WFAN. “That’s something a player shouldn’t have to deal with.’’
Nicks was slowed last season by foot then knee issues, and though he is healthy this season, he has not returned to form.
“When you come off of an injury like that,’’ Gilbride said, “and you can’t play full-speed for almost a year, when you get your body physically healed, which it is now. It still takes you a while to get your body back into those positions that you’re used to getting yourself into.’’