EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Malik Nabers is still not confirmed for the New York Giants’ Sept. 13 opener against the Dallas Cowboys, and the Giants are carrying five wide receivers into a season in which they expect to throw to their tight ends and backs about as often.
Nabers tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee on Sept. 28, 2025, and had surgery in late October. He had a cleanup procedure on the knee this offseason and has practiced since the start of training camp, though he was not a full participant Tuesday.
The latest update includes Nabers saying earlier this week that he will play when he is healthy enough to go all four quarters.
“My mind is focused on playing the regular season. Playing whenever that is. Playing what[ever] team that is,” Nabers said. “I’m going to be making sure that I’m ready to go out there and I’m healthy enough to play all four quarters and that nobody’s got to make sure I’m not in on every play or they have to make sure I got enough snaps to play or my snaps are limited. So that’s the main focus is just trying to be out there as much as I can.”
Giants coach John Harbaugh said in late August that it was reasonable to assume Nabers would play in Week 1. On Tuesday, he said the plan has to cover Nabers at full strength, out entirely, or somewhere in between.
“We’ve got to plan for every outcome,” Harbaugh said. “So, we have to plan that he’ll be there fully. We’ll have to plan that he’s not there at all, and we’ll have to plan that he’s there for some partial amount, and every kind of amount in between. So, it makes it tough. There’s no doubt about it. But you never know if a player is going to be available or not, because anything can happen. Things can happen first play of the game, last play of the game, whatever.”
What Malik Nabers Did To Dallas Cowboys Last Time
Nabers played four games last season and caught 18 passes for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nine of those catches, 167 of those yards, and both touchdowns came on Sept. 14 at AT&T Stadium, where he scored from 29 yards in the second quarter and from 48 yards with 25 seconds left in regulation before Dallas won 40-37 in overtime on Brandon Aubrey’s 64-yard field goal and 46-yard overtime kick.
Nabers was a target magnet under the previous staff, but that could change, in part because he and Jaxson Dart have little game history together. Nabers was hurt in Dart’s first career start, on Sept. 28 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Other Four New York Giants Receivers
Darnell Mooney signed this offseason after 32 catches for 443 yards and 1 touchdown in 15 games with Atlanta. Odell Beckham Jr., 33, signed June 1 and is back in No. 13. He did not play in 2025 while serving a six-game suspension for a failed performance-enhancing drug test, and he had 9 catches for 55 yards in 9 games with Miami in 2024. Malachi Fields was a third-round pick in April. Darius Slayton caught 37 passes for 538 yards and 1 touchdown last season.
Wan’Dale Robinson, who led the Giants with 92 catches for 1,014 yards last season, signed with Tennessee.
Dallas gave up 4,276 passing yards last season, the most in the league, and 35 passing touchdowns. First-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker has DaRon Bland at one outside cornerback spot and rookie Caleb Downs at nickel on the depth chart.
Kickoff on Sept. 13 is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
