John Harbaugh did not commit to wide receiver Malik Nabers playing in the New York Giants’ Week 1 game Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys, but the coach said Wednesday that things are trending in the right direction.“I think he’s ready to go,” Harbaugh said after Nabers was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll see. It’s still four days until we play. If he’s ready to go, and he feels like he’s ready to go, then he’ll play.”Nabers tore his ACL and meniscus in Week 4 last season, underwent surgery on Oct. 28 and has been rehabbing ever since. Despite needing a second “clean-up” procedure in the offseason to remove scar tissue that was causing stiffness, Nabers’ recovery has gone well. The Giants elected not to put him on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp, allowing them to gradually increase his workload and practice participation.Malik Nabers is out at practice ahead of Week 1Charlotte CarrollNabers has made steady progress all summer, highlighted by his return to full-speed team drills on Aug. 17. Ramping up from there, Nabers now appears ready to go for Week 1.
When Nabers last spoke publicly, Aug. 31, he said his focus was making sure that when he does play in the regular season that he is “healthy enough to play all four quarters.”“That nobody got to make sure I’m not in on every play, or they have to make sure I got enough snaps or my snaps are limited,” Nabers said. “That’s the main focus is just trying to be out there as much as I can.”Nabers has been a focal point of the Giants’ offense since New York selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He recorded 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games as a rookie. Before missing the final 13 games last year, Nabers had recorded 18 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns in four games.Nabers barely got a chance to play with quarterback Jaxson Dart last year. Dart made his starting debut in Week 4, but Nabers suffered his season-ending injury in the second quarter of that game.Dart has been looking forward to throwing passes to Nabers in real games ever since.“He definitely has a presence about him,” Dart said during camp. “There’s an aura that he has on the field that is exhilarating.”Nabers’ return will be a huge lift for a transformed and somewhat thin wide receiver room. Nabers is the clear No. 1, but he’s also the only remaining receiver with a familiar face on the 53-man roster after the team released Darius Slayton earlier this week. Darnell Mooney is the No. 2 on the team’s unofficial depth chart, while third-round rookie Malachi Fields and veteran Odell Beckham Jr. round out the four receivers on the active roster. Braxton Berrios, who is on the practice squad for now, is also expected to play this Sunday, either as a member of the 53-man roster or as a practice-squad elevation.Sep 9, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
