Ahmad Bradshaw, who has said he plans on playing this Sunday, practiced today for the first time since fracturing his foot against the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 the day before Halloween. Though Bradshaw said he'd rather not have to practice, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the running back would need to practice at some point this week in order to play on Sunday so this, obviously, is a huge step in the right direction — though we'll find out later how much he participated.

During stretching Bradshaw got attention from trainers and tried on a couple different cleats before settling on a pair. He then jogged some and participated in drills during the media portion of the practice.

On the other hand, Mario Manningham (knee) was relegated to a stationary bike and sat out of practice. Thursday, the wide receiver said he there's "stuff floating" in his injured knee and mentioned season-ending surgery is a possibility, though he also said his chances of playing this weekend are "50-50." But with each practice missed, those chances are decreasing.

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Michael Boley (hamstring) and Hakeem Nicks (ribs/concussion) both practiced. Boley was limited, while Nicks missed all of practice Thursday. We'll see how much each does.

Jorge Castillo: jcastillo@starledger.com