Schefter Gives Worrying Malik Nabers Injury Update, Talks Timeline for Giants WR's Return in Video

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter cast some doubt Friday on whether New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers will be ready for the start of the 2026 NFL regular season.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter gave his take on Nabers' situation and divulged that the Giants are unsure if he will be cleared in time to play in Week 1:

"I just don't like the way that any of this sounds," Schefter said. "There's a second knee surgery. There's some scar tissue and stiffness that they need to address. It's a complicated procedure. They don't know if he'll be ready for Opening Day. It certainly sounds like, at the very least, Opening Night against the Dallas Cowboys at home is in jeopardy. And it almost feels like, at this point in time, that it would be more unlikely that he would play in that game than it is likely that he would play in that game."

The 22-year-old Nabers, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, tore his ACL during the Giants' Sept. 28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Nabers missed the remainder of the 2025 season, and his recovery has come along slowly since then.

Last week, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported that the Giants were initially optimistic that Nabers would be ready for the start of training camp in July, but the timeline was pushed back due partly to a second procedure Nabers required on his knee this offseason to remove scar tissue.

Despite that, Raanan noted that the Giants are still hopeful Nabers will be cleared to face the Cowboys in Week 1 of the NFL regular season on Sept. 13.

On Thursday, Giants head coach John Harbaugh opened up about the complexities of Nabers' injury and recovery, telling reporters, "He's in the middle of it. It's such a hard thing. It's an ACL, and whatever else he had in that knee. Not a simple knee [injury], you know? So, um, he's in the slog of it, the grind of it, I would say. So, he's fighting through it, and he's here every day working hard at it. Just impossible to predict. I mean, 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."

As a rookie, Nabers put up huge numbers, recording 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl selection.

He seemed well on his way to another big year in 2025 before the injury, putting up 18 grabs for 271 yards and two touchdowns in four games.

Nabers didn't get much of an opportunity to play with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart last season, but he is expected to be Dart's No. 1 target in 2026.

If Nabers does not return in time for Week 1, the Giants will be without the two wideouts who began last season No. 1 and 2 on the depth chart, as New York also lost Wan'Dale Robinson to the Tennessee Titans in free agency.

Tight end Theo Johnson and wide receiver Darius Slayton are the Giants' top returning pass-catchers aside from Nabers, plus they added tight end Isaiah Likely and wideouts Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III in free agency, and they selected wide receiver Malachi Fields in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft.