EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 09: Hakeem Nicks #88 of the New York Giants carries the ball as Patrick Robinson #21 of the New Orleans Saints defends on December 9, 2012 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As if the New York Giants and Victor Cruz weren't involved in enough of a stare down, fellow wide receiver Hakeem Nicks sent the team a little message by not showing up for practice Wednesday.

Pay day is coming soon for Nicks, too.

That was the unstated goal of Nicks' not attending the Giants' organized team activity practice, a team source indicated Wednesday. However, Nicks' agent Peter Schaffer strongly denied that the wide receiver missed the practice because of contractual reasons. Schaffer said only he and Nicks were fully aware of the reason for the player's absence and was unwilling to further discuss.

Strictly speaking, Nicks didn't violate any rules. OTAs are, after all, voluntary. However, in the lexicon of NFL, voluntary is a synonym for mandatory.

Even if that's an oxymoron.

View photos

Then again, it doesn't take a bunch of SAT words to get the point Nicks was making by not showing up. His absence left quarterback Eli Manning throwing passes to the likes of Jerrel Jernigan, Rueben Randle and Louis Murphy. That's a far cry from the group that carried the Giants to a Super Bowl victory a little more than 15 months ago.

Manning handled that situation well. He expressed only the mildest disappointment with Nicks' and Cruz's absence, saying this was an important time of year to work on timing.

"You'd like everybody to be here so we can work on getting better, but you deal with what you have and go on," Manning said.

It's also not as if Nicks wasn't around. On Tuesday night, Nicks was at a Giants charity function for United Way. By the time Wednesday morning came for everyone to run around in shorts and t-shirts, Nicks wasn't around.

"I don't know," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said when asked about Nicks. "He should be here."

Asked if he expected Nicks to be there, the irritation was obvious in Coughlin's tone.

"Yeah, sure I did," the coach said. "I expect everybody to be here, trying to get our team better."

Nicks, who was a first-round NFL draft pick in 2009, has one year remaining on his original contract. Cruz has been tendered a one-year, $2.879 million deal as a restricted free agent. He has refused to sign the tender, hoping to get a long-term contract worth in the area of $10 million per year.

The Giants are offering a deal closer to $7 million per year and that number is important in multiple ways. First, Cruz's contract will help set the parameters for Nicks, who the Giants consider to be their primary wide receiver – not Cruz, despite what the stats might indicate.

While Cruz is a dynamic player with the speed and quickness to play either in the slot or outside, 6-foot-1 Nicks is considered more of a class matchup problem for defenses. Thus, Nicks will likely command something much closer to the range of $10 million per year, if not more.

[More Justin Tuck turns to Tony Robbins to help improve his game]

Second, the Giants have to be careful not to overpay on a player who could be replaceable. The team spent a second-round pick on Randle last season. Since being ranked the No. 2 player in the country in high school, Randle has long been considered a great athlete who is simply waiting to develop into a top-flight receiver.

On Wednesday, the absence of Cruz and Nicks allowed Randle to get extensive work with Manning.