Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is trending towards playing in Week 1, head coach John Harbaugh said on Monday.
Nabers, 23, tore his ACL and meniscus in Week 4 last year, sidelining him for the rest of the season and requiring multiple surgeries, including a clean-up procedure in April. At Monday’s training camp practice, he participated in live drills without a red no-contact jersey for the first time this summer. Harbaugh said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) that it is “reasonable to assume” that Nabers is ready to play in the Giants’ regular-season opener against the Cowboys on September 13.
A Week 1 debut did not always feel in play for Nabers, whose prognosis varied throughout the offseason. Initially, he seemed destined to land on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp, especially after news broke of his second surgery in the spring. But the Giants were increasingly optimistic about his status and he avoided the PUP list when camp started in late July.
New York was still cautious about Nabers’ ramp-up process. He was limited from the start of camp and began running, cutting, and jumping in mid-August with three-quarters speed reps in 11-on-11 work. He graduated to live drills last week, Raanan adds, but remained in the red no-contact jersey. After shedding that jersey this week, his next step will be to join contact drills, which could come this week. However, Harbaugh noted that Nabers could wait until next week for live contact and still be on track to play in Week 1.
The Giants have worked to build depth in their receiving corps, though Calvin Austin suffered a “serious knee injury” at practice on Monday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That will likely solidify Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton as the team’s No. 2 and 3 wideouts with Isaiah Hodgins , Jalin Hyatt, and Odell Beckham Jr. competing for the rest of the available targets. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy will also lean on fullback Patrick Ricard and the team’s tight end depth, especially with Greg Roman serving as his run game coordinator.