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Chris Snee – Photo by USA Today Sports Images

John Mara Weighs In: Giants’ President/CEO John Mara talked to The Star-Ledger yesterday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Some key points:

• Mara on unrestricted free agent LT Will Beatty: “Oh definitely. We want him back. I guess we could, if we wanted to, use the (franchise) tag on him, but I don’t know that I see that happening…He’s a good player. We think he’s an ascending player, and he’s somebody we’d like to have on our team.”

• Mara on earlier ESPN report that extending WR Hakeem Nicks was a greater priority for the Giants than re-signing restricted free agent WR Victor Cruz: “They’re both priorities for us. They’re both terrific players. We hope they’re both Giants for a long time…I don’t know where (the ESPN report) came from; that’s not true at all. They’re both priorities for us…Nothing has changed. (Cruz will) hopefully be back with us next year, and hopefully at some point, we’ll have an agreement with him.”

• Mara also reiterated that he thinks Head Coach Tom Coughlin will not be retiring after the upcoming season. “I have no reason to think (he won’t finish his current contract that runs through 2014). He hasn’t given me any indication otherwise. This is what he does. I think he’s got too much fire left to retire at this point, but you’ll have to ask him that…I just don’t see him retiring very quickly. I think he’s still got a lot of energy left in him, and he still wants to win as much as anybody, so hopefully he’ll continue coaching for a number of years. But that ultimately is going to be up to him.”

Snee Undergoes Hip Surgery: According to press reports, as expected, OG Chris Snee underwent surgery on his hip earlier this week. Snee suffered from a torn hip labrum and hip bone spurs during the 2012 season. The 31-year old Snee says he is not ready to retire. “I sat down with my wife after this year and decided if I wanted to do it again,” said Snee. “It’s a grind. There’s a lot that goes into it mentally and physically, but I couldn’t see myself walking away just yet.”

BBI – Affiliate for Giants’ Official Team Store: BBI is now an affiliate of the Giants’ official team store ^[2], which includes the new Nike jerseys and other apparel.