As the offseason rolls along, the New York Giants faced a minor setback regarding wide receiver Malik Nabers. In light of the reports that the rising star underwent a second surgery on his injured knee, one franchise legend opened up on his concerns moving forward.
During the early stages of last season, Nabers suffered injuries to his ACL and meniscus. Months removed from his initial procedure, he had another operation done to address stiffness in his knee.
While on “WFAN Sports Radio” on May 14th, Giants legend Tiki Barber reacted to the Nabers news. Looking ahead, he feels this could be an issue that isn’t going away anytime soon.
“I unfortunately feel like this is going to be a consistent issue for Malik Nabers,” Barber said. “I don’t want to wish bad things, I think he’s a phenomenal player, but it worries me when there’s a second procedure months after the initial procedure.”
Despite undergoing another surgery, the Giants are hopeful Nabers will be in action when the regular season gets underway.
NFL Insider Speaks on Optimism Around Giants WR Malik Nabers
Dating back to his time in college, Nabers has dealt with various injuries. Though this road to recovery took an unwanted turn, it doesn’t appear that it will be impacting him much.
On May 14th, Tom Pelissero joined NFL Network’s “The Insiders” to discuss Nabers. While speaking on the subject, he noted that this latest operation doesn’t seem to be a major cause for concern for the Giants.
“My understanding was the second procedure was about three to four weeks ago,” Pelissero said. “Still optimism he’s going to be ready for Week 1. You never want to hear about your star player having one knee surgery, much less two. But it doesn’t seem the alarms are going off yet with Malik Nabers.”
The Giants are slated to open the season in front of a national audience as the first Sunday Night Football matchup of the year, where they’ll face off against the Dallas Cowboys.
Giants Could Have Depleted Receiver Corps to Begin 2026 Season
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the health status of the Giants’ offense is a key storyline to watch. As of now, they could be without a pair of key weapons when the action gets underway.
As of now, Nabers is expected to be ready for the opener against the Cowboys. That said, anything could happen in the coming months. There is also Darius Slayton to monitor, as he too recently underwent surgery to address his injured core. His current return timeline is to be back in action for training camp in late July.
In the event New York is without these two receivers, they’ll need an array of players to step up and fill the void. One person who could quickly be thrown in the mix is rookie wideout Malachi Fields, whom the Giants traded up to nab in the third round of this year’s draft. Another notable player is free-agent addition Isaiah Likely.
Still months out from the start of the season, the Giants have ample time to get healthy before the 2026 campaign.
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