For the second consecutive day Giants WR Hakeem Nicks (foot) did not practice. And, for the second consecutive day, Nicks insisted his surgically repaired right foot will not keep him from Wednesday’s season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

“It's not that it's perfect, but it's nothing that is going to stop me from playing,” Nicks said Monday.

Nicks consistently increased his workload each practice since he came off PUP during training camp. But after playing 10 snaps in the final preseason game, he surprisingly sat out of Saturday’s practice.

Coach Tom Coughlin insisted that Nicks would practice on Monday, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

 “Well there’s no setback,” Coughlin said Monday. “He didn’t work yesterday, and evidently they felt it was in the best interest not to make him any sorer than he is.”

Coughlin said he doesn’t know how he’ll list Nicks’ status for the game. The final injury list will come out on Tuesday.

Promising injury news: OLB Michael Boley (hamstring) did practice on Monday (we reported earlier that he was out) and he told reporters that he plans on being in uniform against the Cowboys. Boley didn’t play in the preseason and has only recently begun running again. First-year Giant Keith Rivers has looked solid in Boley’s place.

Jayron Hosley ready for NFL debut: The third-round pick out of Virginia Tech said his injured toe isn’t going to keep him from making his professional debut on Wednesday.  

 "I’m excited,” he said. “I’m not going to let it overwhelm me.”

 Hosley had a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Jets in the preseason.

 Victor Cruz laces up his dancing shoes: Cruz’s preseason ban on dancing is over, which means if he scores a touchdown on Wednesday, fans can expect some salsa.

 “I guess that comes along with the Victor Cruz territory right now, so I guess I have no choice but to do that,” Cruz said. “So the ban has been lifted.”

 Mathias Kiwanuka will play against the Cowboys: Kiwanuka has a groin issue, and while he admits he isn’t 100 percent, he did say he fully expects to play on Wednesday.

 Mitch Petrus returns: As Petrus waited for the waiver-wire process to unfold after being released from the Giants on Saturday, he got call from the last team he expected to hear from.

 “I think they called me back in the middle of the day [Saturday] and said ‘Hey, if nobody claims him, we want him back,’” Petrus said of the Giants on Monday.

Petrus was released to make room for tackle D.J. Jones, who failed his physical and was later waived, so the former Arkansas Razorback was back at his old locker at the Giants facility on Monday.

Petrus, who admittedly played poorly in the preseason, said he’s treating this experience as a wakeup call.

“I still have to make some improvements as all players do," Petrus said. "For me just being in tune with the specific minor details, it all adds up in the end. Everything counts.”

 Sean Locklear set to start: Locklear didn’t play against the Cowboys as a member of the Redskins last season, but he did face Dallas when he was with the Seattle Seahawks. And even though he was at right tackle then, he did get to see some of DeMarcus Ware because the Cowboys always flip their 3-4 defense.

Locklear will likely be at left tackle on Wednesday even though Will Beatty (back) did practice on Monday.

Follow the Giants and Alex Raskin @CBSSportsNFLNYG and @AlexRaskinNYC.