After sitting out Wednesday, Justin Tuck participated on a limited basis in yesterday’s practice, wearing new shoulder pads to restrict movement with his neck and testing a new facemask that should make it more difficult for an opponent to grab onto.
Tuck missed the season opener and also last week’s 31-27 comeback victory in Arizona with a neck burner that he first suffered Aug. 29 in a preseason game against the Jets.
“I’m not 100 percent and we’ll find out on Sunday,” Tuck said of his availability to face the Seahawks.
Asked how frustrated he is, Tuck added, “Look at my face and you answer that question.”
If the look on Tuck’s face is any indication, he believes he couldn’t play on Sunday, and it is not likely he will.
Tuck said “definitely” when asked if he considered not trying to play at all until after the Oct. 23 bye.
“Obviously that sounds like the smart thing to do,” said Tuck, who added he has been given no guarantee that rest will alleviate the problem for the remainder of the season.
The new facemask is a direct response to opponents grabbing and yanking his helmet, which certainly doesn’t help his neck.
“They did it before the neck, but it’s a little bit more amplified now,” he said.
Opponents are targeting his neck by yanking on his facemask?
“I played in two games this year and got facemasked in both,” Tuck said. “When you feel like you got an advantage in a situation you try to exploit it. That’s what teams are doing.”
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WR Mario Manningham remains a starter, though Victor Cruz was used ahead of him in the second half of last week’s win in Arizona.
Manningham, coming off a concussion, had just one catch for 10 yards, but offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said he saw some positive signs.
“That really was his best game,” Gilbride said. “He had nothing to show for it production-wise, but he ran a lot of good routes, got himself open.”
Cruz, who had six catches for 98 yards against the Cardinals last week, said he knows he was extremely fortunate he was not called for a critical fumble last week when he put the ball down after stumbling to the ground. He promises he won’t make that same mistake again.
“I could probably be 10 yards out of bounds, and I’m going to run back and give the ball to the official,” Cruz said. “I’m going to do that every time, no matter where I’m at, two-minute drill, whether the game just started, I’m handing the ball to the official. I don’t want to have another one of those situations again.”
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Center David Baas (neck) did not practice once again. He’s unlikely to play this weekend.
“We’re going to see how it feels each morning and we’re going to do what’s smart,” Baas said.