Hakeem Nicks Expects to Play Against Colts, but Stash Mario Manningham

Update: Hakeem Nicks is ACTIVE for the Giants' Sunday night game.

Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks said he expects to play in Sunday night's showdown with the Colts, according to New York Daily News beat writer Ralph Vacchiano.

While he was limited at practice Friday, Nicks said he wasn't restricted by his mild ankle sprain. "Early in the week it was bothering me when I'd go to the right a little bit," Nicks told the Daily News. "But now I'm going every direction fine."

According to recent reports out of New York, Nicks appeared healthy and it's possible that he was held out of a big chunk of Friday's practice as a precautionary measure by the Giants. Nicks did travel to Indianapolis with the team, Vacchiano said, so that's an encouraging sign.

Still, it's always good to have a backup plan heading into these Sunday night nail-biters, and in this instance that backup plan is Mario Manningham, who would start if Nicks is unable to play as expected.

Nicks lit up the fantasy scoreboard with three TDs against the Panthers last week, but Manningham had a solid under-the-radar performance with four catches for 85 yards. Manningham is unowned in 45 percent of Fleaflicker leagues, so if you've got some bench space to spare, that would be one option.

Looking deeper, 49ers wideout Josh Morgan is another bench choice if Manningham is already snapped up. San Francisco doesn't play till Monday night and Morgan is only owned in six percent of Fleaflicker leagues. Obviously, Morgan wouldn't be the ideal fill-in for the dynamic Nicks, but it's better than getting stuck with no one to substitute into your roster in the worst-case scenario.

As soon as we get word of Nicks' official status for Sunday night's game, we'll have an update for you right here.