SEPTEMBER 29: Monday’s MRI confirmed the Giants’ fears. Nabers has indeed suffered an ACL tear, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. Season-ending surgery is now on tap.
SEPTEMBER 28: It appears as though Malik Nabers‘ second NFL season has come to an early and abrupt end. The Giants wideout suffered a knee injury midway through the second quarter of Sunday’s game (video link).
Nabers has since been ruled out for the remainder of the contest, but the long-term news could prove to be the worst-case scenario. An ACL tear is feared to have occurred, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. An MRI is scheduled for tomorrow morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds. 
Further testing will reveal the extent of the damage. It is rather common, however, for initial fears in situations such as this to simply be confirmed by follow-up evaluations. If Nabers has in fact torn his ACL (along with other damage to his knee, potentially) he will of course be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
Any missed time on the part of Nabers would deal a massive blow to New York’s offense, a unit which became the subject of a major shake-up this week. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson‘s struggles led to the decision to insert first-round rookie Jaxson Dart into the lineup. Dart’s development has long been viewed as the Giants’ central storyline for 2025, but that process will be notably hindered if Nabers is indeed unavailable the rest of the way.
Last year’s sixth overall pick, Nabers made an immediate impact with the Giants. He totaled 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns on an offense which struggled throughout the campaign; that production resulted in a Pro Bowl nod and made Nabers a finalist for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The LSU product had a quiet outing in Week 3, but prior to that he operated as a key figure in the passing game.
That would have no doubt remained the case through the season had Nabers been healthy. Instead, his attention will (likely) turn to a lengthy rehab process, provided the MRI confirms a torn ACL. The 22-year-old’s rookie contract runs through 2027 with a fifth-year option available to the team to extend it one more season. Plenty of time remains for a decision to be made on Nabers’ future, but his importance to the Giants will now be underscored even further.
New York retained veteran Darius Slayton this offseason, and the team also has recent Day 2 picks Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt in the fold. That trio will be counted on to carry the load at the receiver position moving forward. Tight ends Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger could also see an uptick in usage as the team establishes a new pecking order in the pass-catching department.
Dart’s level of play is widely believed to be linked to the job security of head coach Brian Daboll and others in the organization. New York’s offense could very well spend the remainder of the season without its top weapon, however.
Just brutal. He’s such an exciting player.
dang this sucks big time.
But but but Think of all the nickels that John Mara saves with the artificial turf
do ppl realize this is a joint decision with Woody Johnson?
I wonder if this is the injury that finally makes them pony up
I tried to walk bare foot on the stuff in 1975, it made my feet hurt so bad, I had to crawl off on my hands and knees which hurt too. Anyone that does not belive this stuff is VERY DANGEROUS, simply try walking on it yourself.
It’s actually quite comfy to walk on. It’s just like a weird consistency though, like being on a treadmill. Couldn’t imagine trying to make sudden maneuvers on it though.
Bro, it has changed just a smidgin since 1975 😂. This isn’t the turf at the Vet. I do agree I would rather have natural grass under my feet but there’s different types of turf used that are substantially better than 1975. You can still tear ligaments on natural grass.
The ones who whine about the MetLife Stadium carpet are the ones who didn’t see Baltimore lose a bunch of key players in Kansas City. GEHA Field has a grass surface.
I’ve walked on a new Turf at a mid-major college field in Louisiana about 10 years ago & that stuff was nice.
Tweaked it while jumping for a deep ball, grabbed the leg as he was coming down. Giants wasted no time calling for the cart.
Hopefully Nabers just have a knee sprain. The NFL need to get rid of the fake grass played on cement
MetLife turf has always been known as one the worst for injuries, even though it was recently replaced by a newer version, it’s still ruining seasons for players unlucky enough to play there.
@Mad Hatter: Interesting thing is that they’re bringing in grass for the World Cup next year. But for the NFL, still the fake stuff.
They’re saying torn ACL. If so, his season is over.
Maybe career. Kinda like Tommy John surgery in baseball, sometimes it works most of the not not. Might get you pitching again buy not as good. Some comeback better,..,much better. ACL pretty much a crap shoot
I said it before the season started that their WR corps was extremely thin. Outside of Nabers, Slayton, and Wan’Dale, the only other WR on the roster were undrafted FA Beaux Collins and returner Gunner Olszewski. Now with Nabers out, they’re really going to need Collins to show up.
Cambre, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette could potentially come up from the practice squad. None are anything special but at least they had reps with Dart in the preseason.
Late reply to myself because I literally forgot Jalin Hyatt existed. Dude needs to step up.
I could see Hyatt breaking out with increased snaps if Dart if is legit.
They need to fix that sorry excuse for a field
Bummer for him. It was a blow to the game, but good enough to beat on the moribund Chargers. Awful performance.
Chargers were one of four unbeatens to lose on Sunday. Hardly moribund.
Chargers were the only unbeaten that had to travel across country and got an early start time.
Colts had to cross 3 time zones to play in Los Angeles where the Rams won on a late catch-and-run TD. And Indy was 3-0 going into the game.
For all the Dart talk, this is Daboll’s true test.
Will Hyatt step up in Year 3? Doubtful. Not impossible … but doubtful.
Not sure who’s on the practice squad but FA is t exactly brimming with possible signees: Diontae? OBJ? etc?
Or … hear me out before dismissing it … they already have a player who started started as a WR in college.
Convert him back to WR and design “Deebo Plays” for him since he’s proven he can be a RB too
Don’t mistake that for me thinking the Giants are even remotely capable of creative thinking; particularly Panic Mode Daboll
ijs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Damn