New York Giants: What To Expect From Hakeem Nicks

The New York Giants signed a familiar player in Hakeem Nicks to replace Victor Cruz. While that will get some fans excited, what should we expect from him? Probably not much at this time.

The New York Giants have an open spot on their roster at wide receiver with Victor Cruz announcing Monday that he will miss the remainder of the season, undergoing surgery to heal his calf injury. With the open spot, the Giants decided that they would bring back a familiar face in Hakeem Nicks.

Nicks, whom the Giants selected 29th overall in 2009, spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts. He was with the Tennessee Titans during training camp, but was released during the final cuts. He has had a couple of tryouts with teams since, but was unable to latch on anywhere. He has now returned home to the Giants, where everything began in 2009.

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In a statement released by the team, Nicks said, “This is home. You know what they say, ‘Let a dog room, he’ll find his way home.’ They left the backdoor open for me.” He also added, “I’m happy to be here, happy to be back in the building. I feel great, I feel hungry. I’m ready to get on that field and make some plays.”

While this is a different offense than Nicks ran in his first goround with the Giants, his familiarity with Eli Manning was probably a big reason behind the signing. You are not going to be able to sign many players off the street with 4,622 yards and 27 touchdowns in experience and familiarity with each other leading into Week 11. Unfortunately, that is probably all the reasoning behind the Giants bringing Nicks back.

There is a reason that Nicks was released by a team as wide receiver needy as the Titans were during training camp and why he was still available at this time. He just has not been very good in recent seasons.

Fresh off a dominant 2011 postseason in which he had 28 receptions for 444 yards and four touchdowns in four games, the future looked bright for Nicks. The Giants had just won the Super Bowl, and looked like a team that could go back. But, the Giants, and Nicks for that matter, haven’t looked the same since.

Nicks looked like one of the up-and-coming receivers in the NFL heading into the 2012 season, but then he broke his foot in May of that year. That injury seemed to sap all of the athleticism and burst he possessed, as he looked like a shell of himself afterwards.