The day the new face of the New York Giants seized command of the team’s offense, the unit lost its most lethal weapon.
In Week 4 last season, quarterback Jaxson Dart made his first career NFL start and led a previously-winless Giants squad to a win over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers. Malik Nabers’ season-ending ACL tear in the second quarter tainted that inspiring victory. While Dart continued to flash his dual-threat skill set last fall, Nabers’ absence was felt. His recovery is key to New York’s long-term plans and has been keenly monitored, although a potentially troublesome report from The Athletic’s Dan Duggan surfaced Wednesday.
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Nabers underwent a second surgery on his knee “multiple weeks ago” to remove scar tissue that was causing stiffness, per Duggan, who said the procedure was characterized as a “clean up” and isn’t expected to alter Nabers’ timeline.
The Giants are still hoping the standout receiver will be available for their Week 1 “Sunday Night Football” showdown with the Dallas Cowboys, per Duggan.
That said, the report naturally has raised the antennae of fans everywhere.
Duggan’s report comes on the heels of ESPN’s Jordan Raanan suggesting on the “Giants Nation Show” last week that Nabers’ injury warrants inspection leading up to the 2026 season.
“Malik Nabers’ injury is something we’ve got to keep a very close eye on,” Raanan said last Thursday. “The more I hear, the more I’m like, ‘Alright, Week 1 seems like that’s in serious question. We’ll have to monitor that all summer. Let’s see how that goes.’
“And even then, let’s be fair, he’s coming back from a pretty serious injury. We can’t expect him to come back and be playing at Malik Nabers’ top level right away. It’s probably gonna take him time. I’m starting to think that we might not see the best of Malik Nabers until four or six weeks into the season, maybe, at best.”
Nabers initially underwent ACL and meniscus surgery on Oct. 28. By that point, exactly one month had passed since he was carted off against the Chargers. Leading up to the operation, the Giants waited for Nabers’ swelling to stop, and the LSU product did prehab, per ESPN.
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ACL tears typically don’t require more than a nine-month recovery.
Nabers’ early-season injury in 2025 cut short his second go-around in the NFL. He was coming off an impressive rookie campaign, during which he earned Pro Bowl honors and ranked fifth in the league in receptions and seventh in receiving yards. Despite playing with three starting quarterbacks — Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito — Nabers piled up 109 catches, 1,204 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns.
Nabers made his early case as the best receiver in his draft class, which also featured Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze and Brian Thomas Jr.
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Nabers was selected second among that group of wideouts, sixth overall and two picks after Harrison went to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Giants are amid a transformational offseason that centered around hiring John Harbaugh as the franchise’s newest head coach. They secured two top-10 draft picks and are angling toward a bounce-back campaign that could breath optimism into an organization that’s made the playoffs just twice since winning the Super Bowl in the 2011 season.
But there’s worry about Nabers’ knee, even though Wednesday’s news comes with reported reassurance from the Giants that his latest procedure hasn’t affected his path back to the field.
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