Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers elaborated on his issues with comments made about him during last Sunday’s Fox broadcast during a press conference on Tuesday.
Fox announcers Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, and Pam Oliver discussed Nabers’s body language at several points during the game and shots of an agitated Nabers on the sideline were shown multiple times. Davis was particularly critical about Nabers’s response to a touchdown by teammate Isaiah Likely and Olsen said in response that “there’s a very fine line between being demanding, being a competitor, and all those great things” before adding that Nabers has “just got to keep it in check.”
Nabers responded to those comments and misattributed quotes that claimed Olsen called him a bad teammate in a social media post after the 19-11 win over the Eagles. Nabers said the broadcast tried to “create a narrative” that wasn’t true and shared more thoughts on the matter Tuesday.
“I just feel like the narrative on me is always all the bad body language things that people have been saying about me,” Nabers said, via a transcript from the team. “But as far as that, if it’s a problem with anybody, the cameras can stay off me. The thing about it is, don’t tell the world something that’s not me. I’m [going to] speak up for myself all the time because there’s nobody else that’s going to be able to speak up for me. So, I’m going to use my own voice and be able to speak up about me being a bad teammate. And I felt like that was just a lie, just attacking my character as a football player and as a teammate. Like I said, I’ve never been on a team where anyone has called me a bad teammate that I know of.”
Olsen took issue with the incorrect quotes about Nabers being a bad teammate and the wideout was asked if he’s heard from directly from him since Sunday. Nabers said he hasn’t, but “he can reach out and we can have a simple conversation.” Beyond that, Nabers said he’s done talking about the subject and that he’s moved on to Thursday’s game against the Commanders.
Giants Clips
Cam Skattebo is set to return to the Giants lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Commanders and he won’t be looking over his shoulder at any new additions to the team’s running back depth chart.
The Giants were reportedly bidders for Jonathan Taylor at one point and they were linked to other potential moves in the backfield, but they stood pat on deadline day. Skattebo said on Tuesday that he understands why some would be “skeptical” that the Giants have enough at running back while citing his average of around 60 rushing yards per game, but that he wasn’t bothered by any interest the Giants had in other backs because “they know what I can do”
“You’ve seen what I can do,” Skattebo said, via Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “When I come out and I’m ready to play football, I can be one of the most dangerous backs in the league. Simple as that.”
Skattebo was up to full practice participation Tuesday after missing Week 9 with a hamstring injury, so he should have every opportunity to prove himself right about what he’s capable of doing for the Giants offense.
Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Cam Skattebo returned to full participation in Tuesday’s practice. The two players were listed as limited in Monday’s walk-through.
McCarthy has a hip injury that briefly forced him out of Sunday’s 19-11 win over the Eagles, and Skattebo has a hamstring injury.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney (chest) also returned to full participation on Tuesday’s report.
Outside linebacker Abdul Carter (knee/back) and linebacker Malik Harrison (groin) remained limited, and cornerback Colton Hood (finger) was added to the report as limited. Coach John Harbaugh said Hood dislocated a finger.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), wide receiver Charlie Jones (thumb), wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were full participants again.
The Vikings’ quarterback situation has been a rollercoaster with more lows than highs since Kirk Cousins left for the Falcons and Sam Darnold left for the Seahawks.
They’re expected to make their next attempt at fixing the situation on Tuesday.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Vikings will trade for a quarterback before Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.
The options, per the source, are “Daniel Jones, Geno Smith, Mac Jones, Kirk Cousins, TBD surprise, TBD huge surprise, but it will be someone.”
Other possibilities mentioned by the source were Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston.
Whatever the Vikings do, it’s going to cost them. If they’d had a deal in place before Monday night’s game, it would have been cheaper. After last night’s debacle from Carson Wentz, teams will be putting their thumbs — and elbows — on the scale.
Regardless, they need to do something. If they don’t, 6-2 could become 6-11. And that would possibly result in a new coach in Minnesota come 2027.
In the categories of “surprise” and/or “huge surprise” would be (and this is just the throwing of a dart): Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, and Sam Darnold.
There have been a number of big moves on the trade front over the last couple of weeks as teams with eyes on competing for the Super Bowl have made big swings to improve their chances.
The Giants have made one significant trade and the move to add quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the wake of Jaxson Dart’s torn ACL has worked out well thus far. The team is 5-2-1 and in first place in the NFC East, which has led to a lot of speculation about whether there are more moves to come ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
While many expected the Giants to be better in John Harbaugh’s first season, that standing might find them a little further along than anticipated and Harbaugh was asked about how the team will weigh a short-term move against the long view of team building.
“Very true, very important, and yet you want to do everything you can do to make your team as strong as you can right now, because we’re in the now, and we’re told to live in the moment, be where our feet are planted, concern ourselves with today, but that’s not at the expense of tomorrow or just prudent planning,” Harbaugh said, via a transcript from the team. “I think we just have to look at each situation, and just weigh it out in terms of, okay, what’s the cost? What’s the benefit? And is it worth it? Is it going to benefit us? Is it a good thing for the Giants, and for the organization, and the team? So, I would say that the now weighs more important than the future, if you’re going to put it on a scale, and kind of go from there.”
People like to talk about championship windows, but they don’t always open and close on a prescribed schedule and the Giants will have to decide if it makes sense to try to widen their current one in the next few hours.
The Giants didn’t hold a practice on Monday, but they say quarterback J.J. McCarthy would have been able to participate if they weren’t coming off of a game on Sunday.
McCarthy was listed as a limited participant due to the hip injury that briefly forced him out of Sunday’s 19-11 win over the Eagles. Head coach John Harbaugh said at a press conference earlier in the day that the team believes McCarthy will be well enough to play against the Commanders on Thursday night.
Linebacker Abdul Carter (knee, back), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin), wide receiver Charlie Jones (thumb), wide receiver Darnell Mooney (chest), and running back Cam Skattebo (hamstring) were also listed as limited. Harbaugh said he expects Skattebo to play after he missed the Eagles game.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee), and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) were listed as full participants.
After Sunday’s win over the Eagles, Giants receiver Malik Nabers had some things to say about things Fox’s Greg Olsen had to say about Nabers during the game.
On Monday, Olsen had some things to say about how the New York Post and USA Today characterized the things he said.
Olsen accused those publications of making up quotes and putting “worlds [sic] in my mouth.”
In order to avoid any doubt about what Olsen (and others on the Fox broadcast) said — and didn’t say — about Nabers, we went to the video (and audio).
Early in the fourth quarter of the Giants-Eagles game, after Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a pass behind an open Nabers who was running right to left, the Fox cameras showed Nabers waving an arm in apparent frustration.
Said Fox’s Joe Davis, regarding Nabers: “His body language has been terrible today.”
“It’s just not good,” Olsen said.
Olsen revisited the subject a little bit later.
“You brought up Malik Nabers,” Olsen said, “and you never know exactly what’s being said. It’s easy for us to sit here and interpret body language. When we asked [offensive coordinator] Matt Nagy about him, he said, ‘Listen, he’s very vocal. When he didn’t get the ball to start the year, he let everyone know it.’ He said, ‘Me and Malik have a good understanding right now. What’s perceived as being negative, what’s perceived as being a distraction, I think we both have an understanding of each other that allows it to coexist.’ And just certainly is something to keep an eye on.”
Not long after that, the booth threw to Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver for more on Nabers.
“Yeah, you guys talk about his body language,” Oliver said. “I can tell you a little more about his mindset. I talked to him. And he told me, ‘I just demand excellence out of everybody around me. Anybody that has a hand in my career. Because you only get one shot. It’s your life, it’s your career.’ It’s fueled by a great sense of urgency in that hard-fought return to the field from that knee injury. Nabers said — told me, ‘I’m not going out there running all these routes not to get the ball.’”
Said Davis in response, “I totally get it. But when your teammate scores the go-ahead touchdown and you still have that look? Not great.”
“Yeah, listen,” Olsen said, “there’s a fine line. I played with a lot of really good wide receivers. A lot really good players. There’s never been a great wide receiver who hasn’t demanded the ball. That kind of comes with the territory. There is a few exceptions to guys that are just a different personality and a different approach.
“But there is a very fine line between being demanding, being a competitor, and all those great things. That’s great. It just can never cross that it feels like it takes away from the success of your teammates. So when your teammate catches a wide-open touchdown, you need to be the happiest guy on the field. You can’t still be worried about your targets. So that’s the fine line. He’s a talented, young, really good player. He’s just got to keep it in check.”
That same drive included a third-down throw to Nabers in the end zone. Nabers couldn’t make the reception, leading to a field goal.
“Listen, you want to demand the ball — you can’t throw that ball any better,” Olsen said after Nabers failed to catch the pass. “That’s a touchdown. You’re a premier player in this league. You’ve got an opportunity there, you’ve got to catch it.”
That’s the full extent of everything that was said on the Fox broadcast during the relevant exchange.
The problem is that too many outlets don’t type quotes precisely. Some will mash pieces of different sentences together. Even if the overall message is the same (and, frankly, it seems as if Davis and Olsen were being critical of Nabers, with Davis being more pointed than Olsen), the absence of accuracy opens the door for criticism of the message.
In this case, Olsen never called Nabers a “bad teammate.” However, Olsen explained that there’s a “fine line” between “being demanding, being a competitor, and all those great things” and “tak[ing] away from the success of your teammates.” Which basically is one of the hallmarks of being a bad teammate.
That’s why all outlets that are going to pass along quotes made on broadcasts should strive to get the quotes right. It eliminates any ambiguity as to what was said — and it prevents a subsequent attack regarding the accuracy of the quote.
Especially when the accurate quote tends to lead to the same place.
The NFL announced a couple of changes to kickoff times for Week 11 of the 2026 season.
The Jaguars and Giants were originally scheduled to start their game at MetLife Stadium at 1 p.m. ET on November 22, but the game will now get underway at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Steelers’ visit to Philadelphia to face the Eagles was set for that time and it will now take over the 1 p.m. slot.
Both games will still be broadcast by CBS and the Jaguars-Giants contest is now set to be the network’s national game during that window. It’s a sensible change as both teams are leading their divisions while the Eagles, who have a bye in Week 10, will carry a seven-game losing streak into their matchup with the Steelers.
A Raiders-Broncos game in Denver will also start at 4:25 p.m. ET and the Jets-Chargers game in Los Angeles will be the lone 4:05 p.m. ET start that weekend.
The NFL has fully embraced a full slate of Thursday night games, justifying the health-and-safety realities by pointing to in-game injury rates when a team has a full week to rest and when it has a four-day turnaround.
That selective statistical focus overlooks the basic reality that some players injured on one Sunday would be ready by the next Sunday, but won’t be ready by Thursday.
For Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the three extra days to recover from the hip pointer he suffered on Sunday would be useful. As it stands, the clock is ticking toward Thursday night’s game against the Commanders.
Coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday that McCarthy is “doing well,” and that it “does look like he’s going to play” on Thursday night.
Even if he’s not playing, there’s strategic value in keeping the Commanders in the dark about whether it will be McCarthy or Jameis Winston. Either way, it would be wise for Washington to be ready for both guys, since McCarthy could aggravate the injury or suffer a new one.
That’s the reality of rolling with McCarthy. His fearlessness means he’ll take hits. The more hits he takes, the more likely it is that he’ll be hurt.
Winston did well during the brief time McCarthy went to the locker room, presumably for a quick visit with Dr. Needle. Winston completed six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown — half of the total passes McCarthy completed in the rest of the game.
In the end, the Giants got another win. They’re 5-2-1. And they’re taking control of the NFC East, especially with the Eagles at 2-7, the Commanders at 2-5-1, and the Cowboys at 4-5.
McCarthy has a higher floor than Winston. Winston, when things are clicking, could have a higher ceiling. And he seems to be better when he enters a game cold, giving the Giants the best of both worlds as they try to turn a season that seemed lost seven weeks ago tonight into something special.
The Giants played without running back Cam Skattebo in Sunday’s 19-11 win over the Eagles, but they do not expect his absence from the lineup to linger.
Head coach John Harbaugh said at a Monday press conference that the expectation is that Skattebo will be “full go” for Thursday night’s game against the Commanders.
Skattebo suffered a hamstring injury late in the Giants’ Week 7 win over the Texans and missed practice for two days coming out of the bye week. He returned on Friday and Harbaugh said he was close to being ready for the Eagles, but that the team had the quick turnaround in mind when making a plan for managing his health.
Devin Singletary was the lead back for the Giants against the Eagles and he ran 21 times for 31 yards. Gregory Desrosiers had 20 yards on three carries.
