EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If Will Beatty continues to progress the way he has been, Tom Coughlin says the starting left tackle should be able to play against Dallas in the season opener on Wednesday.

Coughlin is eager to see Beatty on Saturday and how his back is doing. Beatty was slowly making his way back in practice this week after missing time in camp.

"He practiced a little bit and it was encouraging and he is continuing to work hard on his core and conditioning," Coughlin said. "And he seemed to be OK after a few snaps in practice."

"I'd like to have Beatty back without a doubt to put us back in at least a three-tackle situation," he later added. "We will have to see how Beatty is. I think if he continues to make progress, we should be able to get him back for the game."

Austin update: Coughlin didn't have as much to say on the condition of defensive tackles Marvin Austin (back) and Shaun Rogers (blood clot). It will be interesting to see how those two impact the Giants' decision making on Friday when they trim their roster down to 53.

"I don't have any more clarity," Coughlin said on the two injured defensive tackles. "I know that there's optimism. I don't know how long. Really for Marvin ... I know I can understand the longer the better.

"It is a little bit frustrating because of the lack of time he had to spend on the field during the preseason," Coughlin continued. "That is definitely going to prevent him from being where he should be when he comes off the injury. There are some issues that has to be dealt with."

Thomas update: Coughlin also said he would not even try to guess how close cornerback Terrell Thomas (knee) is as far as returning. Thomas had said that he hoped to gain clearance this week from the doctor to begin running.

Thomas could be a candidate for the new IR rules which will allow teams to designate one player with a major injury that can be activated off IR after eight weeks.

"I wouldn't even guess," Coughlin said of Thomas' potential return. "Medically that has not been indicated to me. I didn't receive any word from the training room as to any change in his routine."

Sash suspension: Tyler Sash said nothing new came from his meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell and that he will still serve his four-game suspension in which he has to be away from the team during that time.