Giants WR Malik Nabers hesitant to play, 'can't put career at risk'

Sep 11 (Field Level Media) - Two days after Giants head coach John Harbaugh signaled Malik Nabers was "ready ​to go," the team's No. 1 receiver indicated that he's hesitant to play Sunday night against the Cowboys with the big picture in mind.

Nabers said he wants ‌to play and has been itching to get on the field since he tore his right ACL last September. He had ⁠18 receptions for 271 yards in 2025 ​after a smashing debut as a rookie ⁠with 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven TDs.

"I've been wanting to play for so ‌long now. At the end ‌of the day, I can't put my career at risk," Nabers said. "I got ⁠to take that into account. There's a lot of ⁠football that I still have left to play. Making a split decision on 'when do I think I'm able to go out there and perform?' as opposed to just going out there, I think the coaches know that I have a lot of football left to play."

Per the New York Daily News, Nabers -- who practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday -- ‌did some brief pre-practice work Friday with trainers and then ​was on the sideline in uniform waiting for special teams to wrap up.

Nabers would likely be replaced in the starting lineup by Odell Beckham Jr. Should Nabers sit Sunday, quarterback Jaxson Dart is left with only tight end Theo Johnson among returning receivers and tight ends who caught a pass from him last season.

"My advice for him is like, when you are ready and you feel it, that's when you come back," Beckham told ​reporters after Friday's practice about his advice for Nabers. "But at the same point in time, you're not going ‌to feel like ‌your 1000% ⁠percent self until some point in the early, middle of the season. ... It's just something that takes time. He's done a great job with his rehab. Whatever decision he makes, everybody in here is going to stand behind him, and I think we're all excited to have him ‌back."

And after releasing Darius Slayton ​earlier this week and losing Wan'Dale Robinson to the ‌Titans in free agency, Dart ⁠would be taking ​the field Sunday night against Dallas without any wide receiver who caught one of his passes in ​2025.

(--Field Level Media)

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