Tuck misses second straight practice

Justin Tuck said he was feeling better than he was yesterday. But Tom Coughlin was hoping that he’d be even further along.

“Today was not what we wanted,” Coughlin said. “He’s not quite as nimble and nifty as we had hoped. We’ll have to see, but I actually thought he would work today.”

He didn’t. Tuck missed a second straight day of practice with back tightness that flared up.

“It’s nothing serious,” Tuck said in the morning before practice. “Just a little tightness … I’ve played in worst pain I can tell you that. Just want to be smart and make sure it is nothing that will linger. That’s all.”

Tuck has not been ruled out for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Steelers and said he wants to play. Whether or not the Giants will let him remains to be seen.

As for Coughlin’s stance on the injury, he was certainly more concerned about it today than he was yesterday.

“Nobody saw this coming,” Coughlin said. “All of a sudden his back was stiff and tight and he’s doing what he can now to get that thing back to where it should be so he can get back to work.”

Here's the rest of the injury report from today's practice:

Justin Pugh (concussion), Ryan Torain (concussion) and James Brewer (concussion) were both on the sideline watching but neither has been cleared to play. Coughlin said Pugh should be back when the team returns from Pittsburgh ... S Cooper Taylor (hamstring) was also standing on the side ... Chris Snee (hip) took his first team reps of training camp with the first team at right guard, but he won't play on Saturday. Neither will Terrell Thomas (knee/hamstring). Both players only came off PUP on Tuesday ... WR Hakeem Nicks (groin) practiced and may play on Saturday ... TE Larry Donnell, who rolled an ankle earlier this week, was practicing but had to have his ankle looked at by trainers late in the workout