Excitement for a Week 1 start for Malik Nabers was tempered on Thursday when Malik Nabers told reporters that there is "no target date" for his return from knee surgery.
The Giants young star was running routes at the start of Giants training camp, leading many fans to marvel at how improved he looked compared to his controversial appearance at a charity softball game earlier this summer. But Nabers slowed down the return hype after camp on Thursday.
"If I can just keep on stacking days with the training staff and they continue to see improvements on my body, continue to see improvements on my knee and where I’m at, it just gives me more confidence to go out there and be able to play," Nabers said.
Nabers participated in individual drills at Big Blue's first practice, and he was back to making sharp cuts and pushing off his surgically-repaired leg while running routes on Thursday. Video of Nabers running routes quickly went viral across social media, as the former top draft pick looked like he was operating without restraint. Six weeks out from the season opener, Giants fans let themselves dream of a Nabers/Jaxson Dart combo in Week 1, just weeks after fearing that starting the season on the PUP list was a very real possibility.
Still, like Nabers, general manager Joe Schoen made sure to keep expectations level after Nabers' encouraging practice.
"We got a good plan in place, so as long as everything goes as planned, we'll listen to Malik and his body and again, hopefully he'll be ready and we'll see how it plays out," Schoen said. "But no predictions right now, just because we have a long way to go, still a lot of camp."
Nabers underwent season-ending ACL and meniscus surgery back in October, then had a clean-up surgery later (Nabers says reports of when that second surgery occurred was not accurate, though he did not provide when it actually happened). The former sixth overall pick finished with 1,204 receiving yards as a rookie in 2024, and the Giants would love to have that production back for a full season. That is certainly not out of the question, but Nabers and company are pumping the brakes on that outcome being a certainty, as there are still multiple hurdles to clear before Nabers is cleared for game action.
Nabers is wowing fans with his route running at camp, but that doesn't mean he is fully back from knee surgery.
Nabers is wowing fans with his route running at camp, but that doesn't mean he is fully back from knee surgery.
