Nothing tanks an NFL team’s season quicker than an injury to a top player. That was the case last season for the New York Giants as star WR Malik Nabers went down in Week 4 with a season-ending ACL tear and damaged meniscus in his right knee.
Arguably the biggest storyline for the John Harbaugh-led Giants at the moment is whether or not Nabers will be ready to play Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Below, we will dish out a Nabers injury update and look at potential return dates.
Malik Nabers injury update: When will Giants WR be back?
The Giants have been hesitant to flat-out say that Nabers will be ready to play Week 1 against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
Harbaugh was on The Domonique Foxworth Show this week and discussed the injuries to Nabers and RB Cam Skattebo.
“I would say they’re on schedule. Now, people hear that and say, ‘well, what does that mean?’ Well, I don’t really know,” Harbaugh said with a laugh. “Because nobody knows. They’re doing well and they’re getting better every day. I feel like [Skattebo] will be ready early on in camp, right away. Malik will be working his way into practice as camp gets started one way or another. To what degree we will find out but there is a lot of optimism around those two guys right now. I feel really good about their respective paths and they should be pretty early … I don’t want to make any guarantees but I think you’ll see a lot of those guys this season. [Skattebo] is further ahead based on the type of injury but Malik is not far behind. He’s in a good place right now.”
Nabers appeared at the Brian Burns Charity Softball Game on May 30 and was seen limping, causing many a Giants fan to worry about his progression.
“We were eight months in and he looked like that?!,” former Giants RB Tiki Barber said on WFAN this week. “He looked bad [at the softball game] … I’m doubtful that [Nabers] is going to be pain-free [in training camp], swelling-free, and fully viable for a good portion of training camp.”
Nabers tore his ACL and suffered meniscus damage on Sept. 28, 2025 in a game against the LA Chargers. During the second quarter, Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart threw a deep pass down the right sideline to Nabers. Nabers’ right leg bucked as he went up to try and make the grab. The star WR immediately grabbed his leg and had to be carted off the MetLife Stadium field.
Nabers waited a full month to have surgery, and at the time his camp said the delay would have no bearing on his return date. The Athletic later revealed that Nabers had to have a second surgery due to “knee stiffness” during his recovery. This second surgery was dubbed a “cleanup procedure” but has further put a delay on Nabers’ recovery timeline.
It typically takes 9-12 months for an NFL player to recover from ACL surgery and be ready to play. One recent example of an NFL receiver bouncing back from an ACL tear rather quickly is Stefon Diggs.
Diggs had surgery in October 2024 but was able to be a full participant in New England Patriots training camp the next summer. The veteran did not play in any of the Patriots’ preseason games but was ready to go in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season.
It is highly unlikely that Nabers will play in any of the Giants’ preseason games, and Week 1 of the regular season is still very much in the air. There is also the very real possibility that the Giants place Nabers on injured reserve to start the season, which means he would not be eligible to play until Week 5 of the regular season.
Here is a look at the Giants’ schedule at the start of the 2026 campaign.
Week 1 Sunday, Sept. 13: Cowboys at Giants
Week 2 Monday, Sept. 21: Giants at Rams
Week 3 Sunday, Sept. 27: Titans at Giants
Week 4 Sunday, Oct. 4: Cardinals at Giants
Week 5 Sunday, Oct. 11: Giants at Commanders
Malik Nabers odds and fantasy football stock
Nabers is +2000 at Fanatics Sportsbook to be named 2026-27 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He is far from the favorite, likely due to the uncertainty about when he will return.
Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, Aaron Donald, Micah Parsons, Daniel Jones, and Maxx Crosby all have shorter Comeback Player of the Year odds.
Nabers’ ADP for fantasy football is currently in the late second round to middle of the fourth round.
Giants odds
The Giants are longshots to win the Super Bowl as they own +7000 odds at Fanatics. Harbaugh’s team has the longest odds to win the NFC East, at +550.
NFL Week 1 odds show them as a +2.5 home underdog to the Cowboys.
Big Blue’s win total is currently set at 7.5 games, and they are +250 to make the playoffs.
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