The New York Giants may be without their star wide receiver to begin the 2026 season.
While the Dallas Cowboys are building optimism around head coach Brian Schottenheimer's second season at the helm in 2026, their division rival New York Giants have reasons to believe in their rebuild, where new coach John Harbaugh leads second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The Giants possess one of the game's best pass-rusher groups (though DT Roy Robertson-Harris just tore his Achilles). However, their top offensive weapon, budding star wide receiver Malik Nabers, remains on the mend as he recovers from his ACL tear early in the season.
After initial projections said Nabers could be healthy in time for Week 1, where the Giants and Cowboys clash in the first Sunday Night Football of the year in East Rutherford, those talks have since died down.
New York received a concerning report about Nabers' recovery this week. ESPN insider Adam Schefter says the Giants "don't know" when Nabers will be back on the field.
"He’s in the middle of it," Harbaugh said to reporters. "It’s such a hard thing. It’s an ACL, and whatever else he had in that knee ... It’s not a simple knee [injury]. He’s in the slog of it, the grind of it, I would say. He’s fighting through it, and he’s here every day working hard at it."
There doesn't seem to be much conviction in discussing the current state of Nabers' injury from inside the building. Schefter notes, however, that the LSU alum remains present in the facility and is going through all the rehab procedures necessary.
"But saying all that, I just don't like the way any of this sounds," Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. "
Schefter reported that there was a second surgery done on Nabers' knee to address scar tissue buildup and debris, calling it a "complicated procedure."
"It’s just impossible to predict," Harbaugh added. "The goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp. That’d be the goal, and we’ll see what happens."
Last year, under former coach Brian Daboll, Nabers torched Dallas for 167 yards on nine catches, two of which went for touchdowns in the Cowboys' Week 2 home opener. Dallas barely escaped with its first win of the year off a game-winning field goal by Brandon Aubrey in the 40-37 overtime final. Nabers got injured in Week 4 and was not active for the team's second meeting at the end of the schedule.
Without Nabers, the Giants' receiver room takes a significant dip in production, with Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, Darius Slayton, and rookie Malachi Fields filling out the room.
New York boasted the fifth-best rushing attack in the league last season, but bruising second-year player Cam Skattebo - who the Giants would likely want to step into RB1 duties soon - will also miss a lot of time after dislocating his ankle late in the 2025 season.
This report may encourage the Giants to sift through the leftovers of free agency as the offseason program ramps up.
For Dallas, it's secondary was boosted this offseason with the likes of Jalen Thompson, Cobie Durant and Caleb Downs added, along with the hopeful health of key returners DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel Jr.
The Cowboys were awful against many of the league's top receivers last season. While it's unsportsmanlike to root for an opposing team's injuries, Dallas may have caught a break here with a peculiar rehab situation that could keep a rising star receiver on the sidelines.
