Other Injuries

DE Justin Tuck sat out practice but said his left shoulder felt strong after his eight-play display in Tampa.

"I'm pretty much full-go other than collisions in practice," Tuck said.

Tuck indicated that he was warned ahead of time not to try to use his bad shoulder when he went in, which made for some uncomfortable moments.

"I was scared to even try to use it a little bit," Tuck said. "I felt limitations, but no pain. Nothing like that. It's just getting stronger and it feels pretty good right now. I'm hoping next game I can go arm-and-a-half, arm-and-three-quarters, something like that.

"I told everybody in the locker room I haven't been this nervous since my first day walking on the campus of Notre Dame. It felt like a brand new start. I realize I hadn't missed a game yet, but it just felt that way. I wasn't very confident, but luckily I played pretty well and the confidence started coming back."

There's still a better-than-even chance Tuck won't be able to go a whole game. And the coaches may still want to keep him out of typical first and second-down situations and limit him to obvious pass-rush situations, as they did last week.

"Pass blockers are going backwards, and there's more of an opportunity to get a running start," he said. "Run blockers are coming forward. The way we looked at it, there was more opportunity to get myself hurt playing the run than pass. This week, (the shoulder) is a lot stronger, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to go in there and help stop the run."

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WR Hakeem Nicks and his sprained foot took limited participation in team drills for the first time since the opening week. He said the goal is to play this week, though he's still working through some pain.

WR Domenik Hixon (knee) did the same, and reported no pain.

"It felt good," Hixon said. "I just need to make sure I can compete at a high level. I can do everything. I just need to make sure I can do it and full speed and not risk further injury."

EP