The Dallas Cowboys will start the year against what is looking to be an unseasonably strong New York Giants team headed by new head coach and former Super Bowl champion John Harbaugh.
Whilst the core members of the projected 53-man roster have managed to remain healthy this offseason, the Giants have been pinning many of their offensive hopes of the season on one man – All-Pro wideout Malik Nabers.
It was reported earlier in the offseason back in July that Nabers could miss as much as the first month of the season by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
However, speaking on Monday after practice, Harbaugh revealed that it is “reasonable to assume” that Nabers will be playing in the Week 1 divisional showdown against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
Nabers practiced on Monday without the red non-contact jersey, prompting reporters to ask Harbaugh about the status of his star wideout’s health.
“John Harbaugh isn’t ready to make any blanket statements on Malik Nabers for Week 1. But he did say for those watching the progress from a distance “it’s reasonable to assume that” barring a setback he’s trending towards being ready for the Cowboys.” Raanan reported.
“I just don’t want to make any kind of statements like that.” Harbaugh said in response to being asked if Nabers was trending towards being ready for the start of the season given he was able to participate in contact drills.
“I think it’s reasonable to assume that. Those are all the things you can assume, just based on watching that practice. The only thing I know more than you guys know is what the doctors and trainers tell me. And that’s doing well, he’s doing really well with that. He’s strong, he’s in a good place.”
How Will a Healthy Malik Nabers Affect Dallas in Week 1?
Everyone wants players to be healthy and playing, and nobody – at least nobody should – root for injuries.
With that being said, the fact that Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart’s number one target will now; potentially somewhat unexpectedly; be likely to see the field on Sep. 13 certainly means that the Cowboys’ defense and new DC Christian Parker will have an extra dimension to consider and plan for in anticipation of the opener.
The Cowboys’ defense was one of the league’s worst in 2025, with only Washington and Cincinnati allowing more total yards on the season. Even worse, Dallas finished dead last in passing defense, conceding an average of 251.5 passing yards per game last season, despite All-Pro corner DaRon Bland starting the majority of games last season.
This year the ‘Boys will be buoyed by their offseason signings in the secondary; the team signed safety Jalen Thompson and drafted fellow safety/nickel corner Caleb Downs in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The team also added Cobie Durant to compete for the second perimeter corner role against second-year third round pick Shavon Revel – the latter of whom has had a very strong training camp and put forth an excellent argument as to why he should be the starter opposite Bland.
But having to deal with Nabers will be nothing if not a big additional complication. A complication that Parker, Bland and the rest of the secondary will need to be ready for when the season kicks off in just under three weeks time.
Cowboys’ Week 1 Defense Set for Challenge After Malik Nabers Injury Update