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.”
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.
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.