Is Malik Nabers playing tonight? (Updated)
UPDATE: It has since been reported that New York Giants rookie Malik Nabers will be in action tonight, set to play the first quarter against the Lions.
Malik Nabers and Jalin Hyatt were working with Drew Lock and the first-team offense in warmups.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) August 8, 2024
They will play the first quarter tonight, per source, confirming what @schmeelk just said on Giants pregame show. Surprise!
Football is back for the New York Giants for the first time since January. That's right, the Giants, led byBrian Daboll, are set to take on the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium in their preseason opener. While it's just a preseason game, this matchup comes after joint practices between the two teams that led to multiple scuffles and even fines handed out to both squads.
As kickoff nears, many Giants fans can't wait to see Big Blue's first-round pick, wide receiver Malik Nabers take the field for the first time in an NFL uniform. The G-Men are hoping he can bring his speed and good hands to the table for this offense. Well, his debut will have to wait another week, as Daboll has already made up his mind on Nabers' status tonight according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan.
As noted on @SportsCenter just now: Most Giants starters, including quarterback Daniel Jones and rookie WR Malik Nabers, are not expected to play tonight in their preseason opener against the Lions, per sources.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 8, 2024
They had two intense joint-practices with the Lions this week.…
Malik Nabers won't play tonight vs. the Lions
This news should not be much of a surprise, as the Giants preseason opener tonight won't feature the speedster. While it may be a bit of a disappointment for Giants fans to not see Nabers take the field for the Giants, this move still feels like the right one.
With plenty of rain expected in East Rutherford, it makes sense why the Giants don't want to risk any freak injury with their coveted wide receiver. The last time we saw Nabers wearing pads, he was going face-to-face with Kerby Joseph, which later ended up turning into a brawl that turned out to be one the wildest and most intense ones of the summer.
With the news that Nabers will not suit up tonight, as well as some other Giants starters on offense, including Daniel Jones, it will allow some of the unknown players to try to impress. Drew Lock is QB2 and he'll be getting the start, though we can expect to see plenty of Tommy DeVito as well. Come Week 2 of the preseason, it will be time for Jones and Nabers to build their chemistry with one another again.
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