Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels no longer have any money on the line concerning the offensive rookie of the year award, but Nabers said things will still be competitive when the former LSU teammates get together this weekend.
Nabers, who spoke to reporters before the Giants announced he was limited in practice with a knee injury, said he expects to “talk smack” with Daniels over the course of Sunday’s game. Nabers also said that is just an in-game thing and that the two players have a “brotherly relationship” that lifted them both to the top of the first round of this year’s draft.
“Yeah, for sure,” Nabers said, via a transcript from the team. “Without him, I probably wouldn’t be here right now, so having that guy as my quarterback, it took a lot of stress off me, so I took a lot of stress off him too getting open. But we’re in a different space right now, but it’s still the same game.”
Nabers’s current quarterback could use some help taking stress off his shoulders, so the Giants will be hoping the wideout is healthy enough to be there for Daniel Jones in Washington.
There is a new injury concern with Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers.
New York added Nabers to the team’s practice report on Thursday as a limited participant with a knee injury.
Nabers spoke to reporters after the session, but it was before the injury report came out. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes that some players went up to the rookie in the locker room to ask how he was doing.
Nabers caught five passes for 66 yards in his debut against Minnesota last week.
Also on the injury report, cornerback Nick McCloud (knee), linebacker Darius Muasau (knee), and receiver Gunner Olszewski (groin) remained out of practice.
Receiver Darius Slayton (concussion protocol) was upgraded from a non-participant to a limited participant.
Linebacker Micah McFadden (groin) remained full.
Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes is headed for surgery on his thumb.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Forbes will have surgery to repair a torn UCL on Friday. Forbes was listed as a full participant in practice on Wednesday and was on the field again on Thursday, but having the surgery now will allow Forbes to avoid having to deal with the issue for the entire season.
Forbes was a 2023 first-round pick in Washington and he had 38 tackles, an interception, and 11 passes defensed in 14 games during his rookie season. He made four tackles against the Bucs in last Sunday’s loss and Tampa completed all three passes they threw to receivers Forbes was covering.
Michael Davis and Noah Igbinoghene are listed as reserve corners on the Washington depth chart.
Late in the fourth quarter of the Commanders’ loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday, Jayden Daniels ran for a one-yard touchdown. Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said that was all on Daniels and no credit goes to the play calling.
Kingsbury said today that he never should have called the play that he called, and didn’t give Daniels an option to audible out of the play to a better call for the look of the Buccaneers’ defense. But Daniels just took the play that was called and scored the touchdown himself.
“I called one of the worst plays I’ve ever called in my entire career, and he just took the ball and ran it into the end zone,” Kingsbury said. “He just was not going to be denied there on the goal line. It says a lot about him in that situation. A lot of people would not have taken that opportunity to drive that ball down and then put it into the end zone, and he wanted the ball in his hands and wanted to score. That was exciting to see. I think every day he gains more and more credibility in the locker room, with his work ethic, his attention to detail, and his competitive spirit is the best I’ve ever been around.”
Daniels finished the game with 16 carries for 88 yards, and Kingsbury acknowledged that he needs to be careful about not calling so many runs that Daniels is getting hit and getting hurt.
“We want him to continue to grow and you can’t do that if you’re banged up and on the sideline,” Kingsbury said.
But it’s good to know that when Daniels needs to get into the end zone with his legs, he can do it.
The Giants have decided to bring back fullback Jakob Johnson.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, New York is signing Johnson to its active roster.
Johnson signed with the Giants midway through last month but was released and signed to the practice squad at roster cuts. But then the team released him from that unit last week.
Now he’s back and will apparently have a role, as he’s being placed on the 53-man roster. The Giants had an open spot, so they do not need to make a corresponding move.
Johnson has appeared in 67 games with 34 starts for the Patriots and Raiders since 2019.