At this point, there's no secret about who the biggest wild card for the New York Giants is right now: it's Malik Nabers. The star wide receiver is still in the midst of rehabbing a season-ending ACL tear suffered in Week 4 of last season, and the goal has been to have him ready to play in time for Week 1.
During training camp, Nabers has looked like a man reborn. Just by watching him practice, you couldn't tell he's 10 months from reconstructive ACL surgery. Based on that alone, you'd think his chances of suiting up in 12 days are solid--but there are a couple of checkpoints he still has to clear.
While addressing the media on Monday, he offered an update on where he’s at in his recovery--and whether or not we should expect to see him out there a week from Sunday. And while he said we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, he did say he feels "real good" but is unsure about anything else.
"I feel real good, to be honest," Nabers said. "Like I said, you're going to feel good but there's still some things that you still have to check off the box for you to participate. I'm still going through that, still listening to the trainers, still listening to doctors, and sharing everything with them."
Malik Nabers is still not committing to playing Week 1 for the Giants
There's a little less than two more weeks until the Giants host the Dallas Cowboys, so this isn't the most ideal update. But this sounds like a player who knows there are still boxes to check and doesn’t want to cut any corners during the recovery process. But there's still time for him to ramp up even further.
Based on what we’ve seen from him in practice, there’s still plenty of reason to believe Big Blue could have the former first-round pick on Sunday Night Football, but ACL tears are a slippery slope. It doesn't behoove anyone to rush him back or to allow him to bite off more than he can chew.
The last thing the 23-year-old wants to do is make any guarantees or get ahead of himself so that he isn't letting himself, the team, or the fanbase down. His ego writing checks his body can't cash wouldn't help anybody. They've learned from what happened with Odell Beckham Jr. a decade ago.
Nabers is (rightfully) more focused on going through rehab the correct way and contributing to this team however he can. He dropped the red non-contact jersey and has joined team periods. But this is also proof that it takes more than making highlight-level plays on social media to be ready to play.
It’s easy to overreact and freak out about this update, but if anything, this is a good thing. It just confirms what we already knew: the New York Giants are taking no chances with Malik Nabers’ recovery. And with Week 1 still nearly two weeks away, there’s no reason for Nabers or the Giants to get ahead of themselves now.
Add us as a preferred source on Google