EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers is feared to have a torn ACL, a source told ESPN, after he was injured trying to catch a deep ball down the right sideline in the first half Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Nabers will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the nature of his injury.
“Obviously, prayers to him,” said rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who helped the Giants to a 21-18 victory for their first win of the year. “I don’t think we know exactly what happened. He’s going to be one of my first phone calls to check on him. But Malik is one of one.”
Coach Brian Daboll said after the game he didn’t have much on the injury front. He hadn’t yet spoken to the team’s trainers before his postgame news conference.
But there seemed to be an understanding that the Giants (1-3) would have to move forward without their top playmaker.
“Injuries happen. Certainly not happy about it, whether it’s Malik or anybody else. But unfortunately, this is a business of injury, and I feel terrible for Malik’s injury. We’ll see where it’s at,” Daboll said. “He’s an important piece of our team, but the guys that play behind him, just like last year when [wide receiver Darius Slayton] went in in Seattle and the week after that, wherever it may be, everybody gets paid to do a job. And it’s next-man up.”
Slayton, the team’s leading receiver four of the previous six seasons, will again be asked to play a bigger role. Jalin Hyatt also took 26 snaps in Nabers’ absence, although without a target.
Nabers immediately reached for his right leg as he went to the ground. Several Giants teammates came onto the field to check on Nabers, who was in intense pain. Several players reacted as if they knew it was a serious injury.
“I just told him praying for him. We got his back. Going to finish this game for him,” Slayton said. “Obviously, he didn’t say too much. He was pretty sad. We got his back. We will uplift him. Keep him in our prayers.”
The Pro Bowl receiver appeared demoralized as he left the field. He eventually waved to the fans as he was taken off the field on a cart.
Nabers had two catches for 20 yards before leaving the contest.
The Chargers jumped offside on the play where Nabers was injured. So rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart took a deep shot down the right sideline to his top receiver. Nabers leaped in the air and was unable to get the ball. He landed hard on his right side on the play.
It’s a major loss for the Giants. Nabers caught a franchise-record 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns last season as a rookie. He had 16 catches for 251 yards and two touchdowns through three games this year. Nabers has 127 receptions through the first 19 games of his career. Only Odell Beckham Jr. has more receptions in NFL history through 20 career games.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that serious, personally, honestly. My heart goes out to that kid,” outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “I’ve seen him work. The work that he did, the extra work he put in with [Russell Wilson], what he was banking on, his goals for the season. But Leek will be back. He will be back better than ever. But it’s tough.”
