Giants free safety Antrel Rolle said he was “dinged up at the moment’’ when his head crashed to the turf at Cowboys Stadium last Sunday, but he has been cleared to return and was listed as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice. Rolle hasn’t been told if he did suffer a concussion, but he is on schedule to start, as usual, against the Steelers.
“Nah, I wasn’t really concerned,’’ Rolle said. “I knew what I was feeling at the moment. Just got dinged up a little bit. But as far as full-consciousness, I knew what was going on full well and everything like that, and I’m back out here.’’
Late in the Giants’ 29-24 victory over the Cowboys, Rolle raced over in pursuit of Dez Bryant but pulled up when he saw that Bryant was not going to be able to make the reception.
“I was trying to avoid a collision,’’ Rolle said. “Once I saw the ball was falling I just tried to avoid him and I didn’t want to get any penalties because I was coming. I was coming to do damage.
“And once I saw that he wasn’t catching the ball I was trying to do my best to avoid him. My foot hit Webby [Corey Webster] as I was going down and it messed up my fall a little bit and had me all out of whack. But I’m all right.’’
Rolle said he didn’t know if he was diagnosed with a concussion.
“To be honest I don’t know what it was,” he said. “I just know I was dinged up at the moment.
“Whatever it was, you have to go through making sure you do the right protocol. Saw the doctors, went through tests and everything and I’m back out here to work.’’
* Also listed as limited in practice: RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), C David Baas (ankle/elbow), LB Keith Rivers (calf). DT Rocky Bernard (quad) and WR Victor Cruz (calf) went full. Three players did not practice: LB Chase Blackburn (hamstring), TE Bear Pascoe (ankle) and LB Jacquian Williams (knee).
* Hurricane Sandy has altered the travel plans of the Steelers. The hotel they were registered in, the Westin in Jersey City, N.J., has no power. So the Steelers will fly in from Pittsburgh on Sunday morning, have a pre-game meal at a hotel near Newark Airport and then bus to MetLife Stadium. … After starting six consecutive games at right tackle, Sean Locklear is headed to the bench, as the decision has been made to re-insert David Diehl into the starting lineup. Diehl missed three games with a right knee injury and since his return has served in a jumbo tight end role while Locklear held down the starting right tackle spot.
* Lawrence Tynes was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for October, the first Giants kicker to receive that honor.
Tynes hit 13 of his 14 field goal attempts (the one miss was blocked) in the month and is 24 for 26 this season.