EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers hasn’t practiced in 11 days while dealing with what multiple sources told ESPN was a minor back problem. One source characterized it as “normal camp tightness.”
Nabers was held out of Saturday night’s 31-12 win over the New York Jets. He has missed each of the Giants’ first two preseason games.
The Giants have only one full practice this week, and it’s scheduled for Tuesday. They will have a walk-through Monday and play their final preseason game Thursday night at MetLife Stadium against the New England Patriots. So, although Nabers could be back soon, it might not be this week given the tight schedule and quick turnaround.
At this point it would seem logical for Nabers to miss the entire preseason. The regular season opens in three weeks.
That should be enough time for Nabers to get ready for the Washington Commanders and the grueling early-season schedule that follows, in part because the Giants appear to be bringing him back slowly. There is no reason to rush their most explosive offensive player onto the field for the preseason.
The Giants are handling the situation with caution considering how important Nabers is to their offense. He also missed the spring with a toe injury and left a practice earlier this summer after landing on a shoulder.
New York has been tightlipped on injuries throughout training camp. This situation is no different despite multiple inquiries.
“Not going to get into any injuries,” coach Brian Daboll said late last week. “[Nabers is] working hard to get back.”
The same holds true for standout left tackle Andrew Thomas. He is on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs from Lisfranc surgery last year.
General manager Joe Schoen said at the beginning of the summer that the expectation was that Thomas would be ready for Week 1. Daboll would only say Sunday that Thomas was “getting better” and that he was “on his rehab schedule” as the team took matters day-by-day.
The situation seems to be similar with Nabers, who played it somewhat coy when he didn’t finish practice Aug. 6. He said that he was listening to the trainers and that it was all part of the plan, but it wasn’t clear at the time what had sent him to the sideline.
“Just everything,” he said. “Just, like I said, the process is just making sure I’m as healthy as I need to be when it’s time to play ball.”
Nabers was on the sideline in uniform during parts of last Wednesday’s joint practice in East Rutherford with the Jets, though he didn’t participate. He appeared to be moving around well Saturday night while watching pregame warmups in street clothes. He stood on the sideline during the game.
Those are positive signs as he has an eye on the season opener Sept. 7 in Maryland against the Commanders.
The Giants’ offense will need a healthy Nabers this season. He is the team’s clear-cut No. 1 receiver after catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdown last year as a rookie. There is no substitute for that role when he’s on the sideline.
Nabers looked even more dominant this summer than last year when he was healthy at training camp. He was virtually impossible to guard while regularly catching passes downfield. More balls were thrown in his direction than at any other receiver, and by a large margin.
Newly signed veteran cornerback Paulson Adebo had a firsthand look.
“Yeah, Malik has, I mean, he has elite quickness, his ball skills, I mean, his ability to track the ball, some of the things he does when the ball is in the air, late hands,” Adebo said. “I mean, he really is, you know, a complete elite receiver. … Young or not, he’s doing some things that doesn’t matter how many years he’s been in the league. I mean, he really is elite with the things that he does and his body control and catching the ball down the field and bursts.
“I mean, literally there’s not one knock to his game — coming out of routes, running every route. So, you really do have to prepare for everything with him.”
The Giants’ offense stumbled at times during joint practices against the crosstown rival Jets without Nabers as quarterback Russell Wilson‘s favorite target. The unit looked better Saturday night with undrafted rookie Beaux Collins stepping into Nabers’ spot and catching a deep ball on the opening drive. The 80-yard gain set up a rushing touchdown two plays later.
Wilson and the first-team offense didn’t score on their other three drives, the last of which ended on an interception intended for Collins. Daboll said afterward that it wasn’t a concern because that was a route the quarterback and rookie receiver hadn’t yet worked on together.
It might have been different had Nabers been on the field. He has put in a lot of work with Wilson this summer.
Wilson and the Giants know they need a healthy Nabers on the field this season to reach their full potential. He is the team’s most dynamic playmaker.
“The good part is we don’t even have Malik Nabers out there yet,” Wilson said last week after the first of two joint practices with the Jets. “He’s had a great camp, so when gets back out there too it will be really exciting for us.”
It looks likely to be sooner rather than later that the Giants will have both Nabers and Thomas back.
