Everything Malik Nabers Said About His Week 1 Status for Giants vs. Cowboys, Pitch Count, More

Malik Nabers says he's still not certain if he'll be on the field when the New York Giants open the season Sunday against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

"I'll let God tell me," Nabers said Thursday about when he'll know about his Week 1 availability (h/t SNY). "Keeping my faith, and He'll let me know, and I'll know when it's time."

Nabers has been recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 4 of the 2025 season.

He said Thursday he expects the Giants to let him decide both whether he plays and if he's on a snap count this weekend.

"I wouldn't want anyone to tell me I'm going to be on the pitch count, because at the end of the day, it's my career and it's my body," Nabers said. "If a pitch count is in the conversation, then I would lead that conversation. That decision would be on me."

Nabers continued, "I've been wanting to play for so long now, but at the end of the day I can't put my career at risk. I've got to take that into account. There's a lot of football that I still have left to play."

The Giants are preparing to open the season at MetLife Stadium this Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET.

Nabers suffered his torn right ACL and meniscus in September 2025 and underwent surgery the following month.

The upcoming matchup against the Cowboys will take place 10 and a half months since that initial surgery was completed. Nabers also reportedly underwent a second procedure to remove scar tissue in May.

"I did everything that I can to be in this position right now, and be able to make the decision to play or to not play," Nabers said. "And if I am out there, I did a great amount of work to know that I'm able to play."

When asked Wednesday if Nabers would play this weekend, Giants coach John Harbaugh told reporters, "We'll find out on Sunday night."

"I think he's ready to go, man," Harbaugh said when asked about his opinion on Nabers' status. "We'll see, though... if he's ready to go, and he feels like he's ready to go, then he'll play. If he's not, and he's not ready, then he won't play."

Harbaugh also noted he felt further updates on Nabers' availability wouldn't give the Giants a competitive advantage.

"I'm not going to tell you who's starting. I'm not going to tell you what package we have in. I'm not going to tell you what plays we're running... when you know, the Cowboys know, or every other team we play knows, and that's not in the competitive interest of our football team," Harbaugh said.

Nabers pointed to Harbaugh's answer when asked Thursday about his availability, but denied that keeping information from the Cowboys was motivating him not to confirm his Week 1 status.

"I don't care who I play. I don't got no fear of nobody. Let them know I'm playing, if I'm playing, or let them not know if I'm playing," Nabers said.

Any late lineup changes Sunday could test a' new-look Cowboys secondary featuring offseason additions including Cobie Durant and Caleb Downs.

Should Nabers sit out Week 1, the Giants could give more targets to relatively untested options like rookie Malachi Fields and Odell Beckham Jr., who hasn't seen NFL action since 2024, in order to provide Darnell Mooney with help.