Malik Nabers (knee) expected back as camp starts

Nabers reportedly sported a red, non-contact jersey as he took part in a walkthrough period that Giants coaches used to install plays. According to SNY’s Connor Hughes, Nabers caught a couple of passes while running routes against the defense today. Per Hughes, “everything points towards him being back for the start of the season.”

Nabers’ participation in training camp has steadily increased over the last two weeks, and the star receiver has reportedly looked good on his surgically repaired knee. According to Raanan, Nabers has “looked better as the summer progressed” and was able to cut and jump without any trouble. While he has yet to participate in seven-on-seven or 11-on-11 drills, the belief is that Nabers will begin participating in live drills in the coming weeks. The uncertainty surrounding Nabers’ injury has created a nice buying opportunity for fantasy managers who were willing to take a shot on him earlier this offseason at his suppressed ADP. While his price is likely to go up for the remainder of summer, if Nabers is good to go for Week 1, he will be well worth the cost as he projects as a high-end WR1 when healthy.

This is another step in the right direction, although Duggan adds that there was a “slight scare” when S Tyler Nubin got a little too close for comfort on a swing pass to Nabers today. Both players are reportedly “fine,” but Nubin might want to reduce his enthusiasm moving forward. Duggan believes Nabers could join “live team periods” next week, giving us a benchmark to check in on. Stay tuned.

Well, that could explain a lot. Nabers shocked many of us by showing off fairly crisp route running at training camp this week. A week ago, he was thought to be a candidate for the PUP list. Back in May, news broke that Nabers had undergone a clean-up procedure on his knee “multiple weeks ago.” Although ambiguous, it was apparently incorrect. Nabers did not specify in which direction, but given his participation, one assumes the procedure occurred earlier than the report indicated. Positive reports continue to roll in for the young star.

According to Nabers, the “plan is to keep stacking days” and see where things go. We’ll take it. Nabers’ limited participation thus far is a remarkably positive development. He is coming off a major injury, so he is not without risk, but his elite upside makes him well worth the dice roll. He seemingly has a chance to play in Week 1 against the Cowboys.

Nabers avoided the PUP list to start training camp, which was a bit of a surprise given the generally negative reporting surrounding his knee injury during the offseason. He suffered a torn ACL and meniscus, both of which required surgery. Nabers also underwent a cleanup procedure during the summer. Though he is still a long way away from fully participating in practice, all signs point to him playing early in the season, if not Week 1 outright.

Nabers will “have a reduced workload early in camp” and avoiding the PUP list was “a promising first step, but it’s not the final checkpoint” per Duggan. That’s the bad news, but the overall trend is going enough in the right direction that Duggan believes Nabers could play right away. These things can shift fast — one rough practice could change a whole tone — but guarded optimism is probably the right way to characterize this update.

This is a positive update, and it seems fairly declarative, but there is still room for interpretation. A few Giants veterans were placed on the PUP list today, although veterans do not report to training camp until July 28th. The fact that Nabers avoided PUP today is good news, but it is still possible that he could land on the active/PUP list when he reports next week. Earlier today, Raanan reported that Nabers was “expected to avoid the physically unable to perform list” and that playing in Week 1 against the Cowboys is “a realistic possibility.” At the very least, this framing suggests he is not expected to be placed on the reserve/PUP list, which requires players to miss at least four games. We won’t know whether he officially avoids the active/PUP list until he reports next week, but keeping him off of it does have benefits. It allows the team more flexibility in how they integrate him into practices. If he lands on the active/PUP list, he can only do rehab work with the training staff. Long story short, this is a net positive, but next week could bring us another PUP-related update. Stay tuned.

Raanan does not specify whether he is referring to the reserve/PUP list, which requires players to miss at least four games, or the active/PUP list, which allows players to return at any time. At the very least, it sounds like Nabers is expected to avoid a reserve/PUP listing, which is good news. Raanan adds that Nabers is still rehabbing his right knee, and that “when he runs, how he runs and when he can practice will be deduced based off his every move.” Nabers’ 2026 outlook is far from certain, but his upside remains high. If he can avoid the active/PUP list as well, he would seemingly have a chance to practice, albeit likely in a limited capacity, soon after Giants veterans report for training camp on July 28th. Stay tuned.

Speaking on Thursday, Harbaugh was sure to point out that Nabers’ injury was “not a simple knee” injury while adding that his star receiver is in the building “every day working hard” to make his return. Nabers underwent a cleanup procedure on his knee several weeks ago, but it isn’t expected to affect his return. Harbaugh said last month that Nabers wouldn’t be on the field until training camp, and maintained on Thursday that a return by camp was still the goal, but said the team will see what happens” from here. Nabers’ injury has been baked into his ADP all offseason, as he’s currently going in the mid to late second round of drafts. It wouldn’t be surprising if his ADP continued to dip until we have more certainty around his situation.