Pro Football Rumors
While Malik Nabers‘ early-season status is still in doubt, the Giants signaled that their star WR may be trending towards a Week 1 return. As NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo notes, Nabers wasn’t among the team’s initial list of active/PUP placements today.
[RELATED: Giants Optimistic Malik Nabers Will Be Ready For Week 1]
While Nabers will technically be allowed to practice in full at the start of camp, Dan Duggan of The Athletic cautions that today’s decision doesn’t mean the wideout will be 100 percent. Instead, the decision to avoid the PUP means the Giants have more flexibility as they look to integrate him back into practice. If Nabers did land on the list, then he only would have been allowed to work with trainers.
Nabers suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in September, which kept the door open for an early-2026 return. While it’s been a difficult rehab for Nabers, who required a second, cleanup-focused surgery in April, there was still recent optimism that he’ll be ready to go for Week 1. General manager Joe Schoen said as much in June, and coach John Harbaugh revealed that the WR is making “really good progress.”
The sixth-overall pick in the 2024 draft quickly established himself as a bona fide WR1 after hauling in 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. His per-game numbers took a slight step back in 2025 before his season-ending injury, but Nabers will clearly step in atop the depth chart when he’s ready to play. Schoen recently admitted that the Giants lack a “true No. 1 alpha” with Nabers out, although they certainly don’t lack for notable names. The rest of the team’s depth currently consists of Odell Beckham Jr., Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin, Darnell Mooney, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Braxton Berrios, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, and rookie third-round pick Malachi Fields.
Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News passes along the Giants players who did land on PUP today: TE Thomas Fidone II, DL Sam Roberts, and DL Roy Robertson-Harris. Notably, the team is hopeful that Robertson-Harris can make a late-season return to the field, per Garafolo. The defensive lineman suffered a torn Achilles back in May.
