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Robert Sabo/New York Daily News
NY Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at end of season.
The Giants are going to keep “all of our options open” with the trade deadline fast approaching, according to GM Jerry Reese. And that includes the unlikely possibility of trading Hakeem Nicks.
With the 4 p.m. deadline just hours away, Reese declined to rule out the possibility that he would deal his top receiver, which several NFL sources believed he might do when the Giants were off to their 0-6 start. Things have changed since they won two straight games and attached themselves to the fringe of the race in the NFC East.
But Nicks is still scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and Reese acknowledged that several teams have called to see if he was available. Though he declined to say what his response to those teams was, a team source confirmed that nothing has completely been ruled out.
“We keep all of our options open,” Reese said. “Hakeem played well this last game, but we always keep all of our options open. You never say never until 4 o’clock. So we’ll see what happens.”
According to a team source, the Giants are extremely unlikely to deal Nicks – or make any deal before the deadline – unless they are bowled over by an offer. They still have hopes of re-signing him before free agency begins in March, as long as he isn’t seeking a deal worth $ 10-11 million per year.
Regardless, the source added, the Giants know they need Nicks if they are going to make a second-half push for the playoffs. He hasn’t been great this season – just 34 catches for 521 yards and no touchdowns – but he’s an integral piece of the Giants’ passing game.
Also, trading him would be an obvious signal of surrender. A few weeks ago, veteran Brandon Jacobs said it would be like a “dagger” to the locker room if a player like Nicks was dealt away.
Reese clearly knows that. And while he didn’t address that specifically, he said his team’s approach to the trading deadline depends on the situation it’s currently in.
“We have a chance to get back in the race,” Reese said. “So that gives you a different feel of what you can do at the trade deadline. If you’re 8-0 like Kansas City, you have different (feel). It depends on what your record is and what your circumstances are. It’s different things at different times and different situations.”
