Malik Nabers says his knee feels “real good,” but the Giants wideout still isn’t locking himself into a Week 1 return against the Cowboys.
That’s a noticeable shift from the recent buzz around his rehab. Nabers, the Giants’ top receiver, sounded much more measured Monday, stressing that his priority is not just getting back on the field, but being ready to handle a full game without restrictions.
“My mind is focused on playing the regular season, playing whenever that is and playing what[ever] team it is,” Nabers said. “I’m going to be making sure that I’m ready to go out there and I’m healthy enough to play all four quarters, that nobody’s 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. So that’s the main focus: just trying to be out there as much as I can.”
That was a more cautious answer than the one the Giants had been signaling. One week earlier, head coach John Harbaugh said it was “reasonable to assume” Nabers was trending toward being available for Sept. 13 against Dallas, as long as he didn’t hit a setback.
“How he gets through practice, how ready he is to play and protect himself, is really based on practice,” Harbaugh said. ‘You’re watching practice, too, and you can see it.”
Nabers, 23, is clearly not rushing to anyone else’s timetable. That makes sense, especially with the chance to negotiate a contract extension after his third NFL season in January. The Giants may be hopeful, but he’s the one who has to trust the knee.
His recovery has already included surgery on Oct. 28, 2025, to repair the torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee, followed by another procedure in the spring to clear out scar tissue and stiffness.
And Nabers isn’t just talking about getting back to where he was. He wants to come back better.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say it takes a little while for you to feel better,” Nabers said. “But I’ve put in countless hours of work.
I’ve put in many nights. I’ve sat in rooms, cried.
I did everything to get to this moment right here. So I feel like when I get out there, I feel like I’ll be better than what I was before… Will it take me some time?
Who knows. But I know for sure if I’m out there, I’m going to run some routes, for sure.”
He’s already farther along than many around the team expected when the calendar flipped toward September. Still, Nabers said there are “still some things to check off the box for you to participate,” and that includes taking real contact.
He practiced Monday, but last week he left a practice early, and Harbaugh still didn’t offer a clear explanation for that.
“I don’t even know,” Harbaugh said. “It wasn’t even an issue.
It was nothing. Nothing to worry about.
Yes, he’s fine physically. It wasn’t about an injury or anything.”
If Nabers is not ready for Week 1, the Giants’ receiving group as currently constructed would include tight end Isaiah Likely, rookie Malachi Fields, Darnell Mooney, Odell Beckham Jr., Darius Slayton and the running back rotation.
For Nabers, the eye test is one thing. The real test is how his body responds.
“[From] the outside view, I might look like I’m one hundred percent,” Nabers said. “I make everything look well.
I mean, sometimes I run routes and I go look on the internet and I’m like, ‘Dang, I was moving kind of crazy.’ But when you’re in your body and you’re in it, you still have some things that you still got to work on as a football player that you got to be like, ‘I don’t feel right doing this cut.
I don’t feel right. I haven’t been hit.
I haven’t seen this.”
“I want to be able to come out there and make no mistakes and just be able to fly around and do what I do,” he added. “I’m getting there for sure. I’m getting there.”
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