Malik Nabers won’t commit to Week 1 Giants return from injury

Malik Nabers asked “Why me?” but that’s where questioning himself stopped.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since he suffered a torn ACL and further knee damage, Nabers did not commit to being ready for the first game of the Giants’ 2026 season even though his rehab is “right on track.”

“My target date is when my body feels good to get out there and I can continue to be who I am,” Nabers said. “If my body doesn’t feel right (Week 1) then I’m not going to play.”

Nabers, a 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist, was well on his way to becoming a top-five NFL receiver before he crumpled in pain as a pass fell incomplete on Sept 28. He underwent surgery on Oct. 28 — after swelling subsided — and still was walking with a cane on Sunday before his exit physical on break-up day.

“It’s tough, but I needed this,” Nabers said. “I needed to get back to where I once was and find that hunger. I feel like this is a blessing in disguise. I had a talk with Jameis (Winston) and I kept asking, ‘Why did it happen to me?’ And he’s like, ‘Why not you? Why not go back to the bottom and try to find your way back to the top?’ I’m putting that in my head and attacking the rehab as much as I can.”

Nabers said he had “a lot messed up in my knee, which I was told (was) successfully operated on.” He did not need a second surgery.

Several NFL sources mentioned Nabers as one of the main chips that makes attractive the Giants head coach vacancy. What type of offense would Nabers like to see prioritized in the search to replace Brian Daboll, who had given his star playmaker lots of input into the franchise quarterback search and the playcalling?

“I just want the ball,” Nabers said. “And I know I’m going to get it.”

Why shouldn’t he? Nabers has 127 catches for 1,475 yards and nine touchdowns in 19 career games, though less than two quarters were played alongside franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Does he want to be used like the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson or Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase?

“Everybody is different,” Nabers said. “I want to showcase my talent. I want to do what I’m best at. I don’t want to be compared to everybody else. I want to lead. I want to do what I want to do. I want people to be like, ‘I want to do what Malik does.’ I don’t want to do what they do.”

Nabers has not decided whether he will spend his rehab in New York, in Dallas where he underwent surgery, at home in Louisiana or somewhere else. He said the foot injury that he dealt with last offseason is healed.

“I’m looking for better,” Nabers said. “I’m not going to doubt myself. Every year I’m trying to get better. You’re going to see me when the time is right.”