Malik Nabers has made his message clear, and Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy isn’t treating it like a problem.
Nagy said Thursday that he understands the frustration of a player who wants the football more, and he pointed to a familiar example from his time with the Kansas City Chiefs: Travis Kelce.
“It’s an emotional game,” Nagy said, per the Giants’ website.“ And when you’re in the moment, as a coach, you’ve got to understand that these guys are emotional.
And so, when I’m up in the box, it’s not as emotional. It’s really not.
So, you have to take that and understand that. I was around a very similar player, talent-wise and the person-wise, in Travis Kelce.
He was a guy who wanted the ball a lot, and he had great ways on how to let you know how to do it.”
The comparison came after Nabers drew attention for saying he wants the ball more, especially in the second half of games. That tension showed up in New York’s 36-24 home win over the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 4, when Nabers had just one catch on two targets for 28 yards after halftime. He still finished with six receptions on seven targets for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Nagy said the two of them handled the situation directly and productively.
“Malik is without a doubt one of the most talented players, not just wideouts, ...that I’ve ever been around,” Nagy added, per Julia Yohe of SNY. “I think the biggest thing that is important for us to understand - and what we discussed, Malik and I - is making sure that [we] don’t ever take [the ball] away from a player.
You’re crazy if you take that away from somebody. Don’t ever try to not get him the football.
We want to get you and him the football, so he knows that. ... We had a great conversation on Tuesday.
He’s in a great spot, and we definitely want to get him the ball a lot.”
That “great spot” comes with a question mark, though. Nabers dealt with a sore knee during midweek practices, and while he was on track to play against the Washington Commanders as of Friday morning, it wasn’t clear whether his workload would be limited.
The Giants head into Sunday’s game at Washington’s Northwest Stadium at 3-1, while the Commanders are 1-3. DraftKings Sportsbook listed New York as a 3.5-point road underdog on Friday.
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