Report: Nicks Will Appear But Won’t Practice
June 10th, 2014
The headline really says it all. Per the Twitter account of Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, guard Carl Nicks will show up for the start of Tampa Bay’s mandatory three-day minicamp, which begins this afternoon.
But Nicks’ bum foot is still ailing after two surgeries: one to carve out a MRSA infection, and one for an extreme turf-toe-like issue. He won’t practice today, per Stroud.
Nicks has been absent from multiple voluntary spring practices this season. Showing up today would spare him a fine.
June 10th, 2014 at 9:41 am
Stick a (extremely large) fork in this guy. He’s done.
June 10th, 2014 at 9:42 am
Not much else to say, is there? He’s going to be a very expensive part of the roster, but that’s what guaranteed money does to a team.
I’m beginning to think that cutting him in spite of his contract might be a good idea, if he can’t get going by the opener. Better to have a special teams guy who can contribute than a guy who may never play another down of football.
June 10th, 2014 at 9:44 am
They probably discontinued the direct deposit for the week, and are making players pick up their checks after the last day of OTA is over.
June 10th, 2014 at 9:51 am
bwaaahahahahahaaaaaa
wonder if he’ll bring his double wide recliner with wings and beer
June 10th, 2014 at 10:01 am
Before you guys start making fun of the dude – he hasn’t done anything personally to not be ready that anyone knows of. His foot was partially devoured by flesh eating bacteria, and the foot injury he had to start with had long odds to recover properly. Throwing stones at Nicks is asinine. He signed his contract and apparently has acted in good faith so far. Everything that’s happened to him seems to have been outside of his control.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:08 am
I feel sorry for Nicks too. A healthy Nicks would of wiped out some O line doubts. Damn, we could of been a contender with a healthy Nicks.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:08 am
Carl is not going to pay a fine which shows that nothing is wrong with Carl’s head, it’s his big toe. Carl has never missed a meal or a paycheck, which leads me to believe that he will show up for training camp.
The Bucs will give him every opportunity to play. If he can’t play due to his injury, not only will they have to pay a guaranteed 6mil injury settlement, but 7.071mil in dead money would immediately come due. Because it’s after June 1st, they have the option to pay half in 2014 and roll the other half over to 2015, but pay it they must.
If they take a chance and keep Carl, on week one of the regular season, his 7mil salary becomes guaranteed because he is a vested veteran. So I expect Carl to play if physically possible even if he plays in rotation to take it easy on the toe which has nerve damage (not caused by MERSA) and by his own admission will never be 100%.
If there is no way possible for him to physically play, they will financially bite the bullet and pay the settlement, rather than to take up a premium roster spot. So good luck Carl! An 80 or 90% Carl in rotation (run game) just might be enough to get us by!
June 10th, 2014 at 10:10 am
Seems like a decent guy. Some times $hit happens. He was not a head case. Give him his money and let him walk, if he can. Time to move on!
June 10th, 2014 at 10:10 am
At what point is it prudent to cut bait? Training camp?
I know there’s guarantees involved, but, if he’s not coming back, that’s a roster spot that could be used.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:23 am
It sucks, but he will not play 10 more nfl games in his life.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:32 am
The Bucs are holding onto Nicks as a “just in case”. It doesn’t benefit them in any way, including financially, to cut him in 2014, so they might as well hold onto him on the slim chance that he has a miraculous recovery. But as soon as it’s apparent he’s done for good and they can save a few bucks by cutting him, he’s gone.
If it’s true that his toe was recently still the size of a sweet potato I just don’t see how he ever plays again. Especially if he has nerve damage as has been reported. In fact, if the Bucs could save a ton of money I think Nicks would already be gone.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:33 am
sucker born every minute.
I feel for you guys more than I feel for him.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:50 am
So surprised!!!
Not.
June 10th, 2014 at 10:54 am
Might as well free up a roster spot and stop wasting air on this.
June 10th, 2014 at 11:41 am
This guy was done pre MRSA. Toe issue was very likely known by Saints, so they let him go to free agency. But it’s buyer beware… And that’s on the Bucs medical staff. When reports a while back kept us a breast of other bucs injuries couple seasons ago nothing ever was mentioned about Nicks recovery I felt something then was up. Not sure about the relationship between the Bucs and Nicks all this time but I felt after that off season that this signing was a bust. Unfortunately best to cut our loses, learn and move on.
June 10th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
How did the Saints know Carl had turf toe before it happened? I hear this theory thrown around all the time but nobody has any proof. Unless you believe that guy who has a friend who is a scout crap and that got exposed to be a lie. BTW the word is abreast it’s not ‘a breast’.
June 10th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
Macabee, you hit it right on the head brother, Carl is set up financially to really gain either way, but maybe more so with an injury settlement, which concerns me. If Carl truly has discretion, then he could theoretically utilize the best case scenario. I hope as a fan, that he does play in a rotation as macabee suggested, but advice, he is surly getting from his agent, which I don’t think bodes well for the team and it’s fans. jmho.
June 10th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
its to early to make any assumptions. how many times does players elect to not partake in any team activities for lame reasons such as money or just to be a dingus about it. this dude has half a foot and im sure everybody involved wants to make sure he can play at his probowl caliber. take all the time u need big guy. if hes good to go and can play ball he’ll be there wk1 mauling dudes in the trenches. if not im sure that will mean he just cant play ball anymore and his career will be over. worry about something else people.
June 10th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Was his toe ever an issue in New Orleans?