The biggest question facing the New York Giants this offseason is the recovery of superstar wide receiver Malik Nabers.
After suffering a brutal knee injury in Week 4 of last season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Nabers’ recovery has been concerning, to say the least.
He needed a second surgery in April, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, due to scar tissue that was causing stiffness.
Arguably, the biggest red flag about Nabers’ eventual return was the flurry of wide receiver signings the Giants made over the last week.
Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios, and Juju Smith-Schuster are now all in New York, and it could be insurance.
But when will Nabers make his return? Does anyone have a general idea?
Jordan Raanan Reveals When Malik Nabers Will Return
ESPN’s New York Giants insider, Jordan Raanan, revealed on the Breaking Big Blue show that he expects Nabers to make his eventual return to the field by the start of the regular season.
“He’s far away from being ready for football, but on the flipside, you have three-plus months right now to get ready… That’s a decent amount of time to hope your knee gets better. At the same time, it hasn’t been a great – you know, clean rehab. So that has to have you a bit concerned when it comes to Malik Nabers,” Raanan revealed.
“From what I’ve heard, and the people that I’ve talked to, right now, barring another setback…his timeline is around that Week 1 area. So yeah, maybe he’s not ready for Week 1, but I think, realistically… he’ll be back early in the year. Similar to what happened with Andrew Thomas last year.”
Raanan’s co-host, Bobby Skinner, pointed out how abnormal it is that Nabers’s recovery is taking as long as it has.
The former first-round pick’s injury occurred on September 28 of last year. Should it really take almost a full calendar year to return to full strength?
Clearly, there have been some snags in Nabers’ rehab. The second surgery was always a poor sign, along with signing multiple veteran receivers to eat up reps over the summer.
But if what Raanan is saying is true, Giants fans can expect to see their WR1 by at least September, and that’s better than nothing.
Jordan Raanan Projects Giants’ Final WR Room
Later in the show, Raanan tried to predict what the New York Giants’ wide receiver room would look like once they make their final roster cuts in August.
The insider listed Nabers, Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin, rookie Malachi Fields, and Odell Beckham Jr. as the sixth and final wideout.
Nabers, Slayton, Mooney, and Fields make the most sense. New York is paying Slayton a decent chunk of change in 2026, and Mooney was a free agent signing with $3 million guaranteed on his one-year deal.
Raanan said it was really close between Beckham and Smith-Schuster, but gave the edge to the former Giants first-round pick.
He also noted that it could look completely different if Nabers does end up starting on the Physically Unable to Perform list, but he doesn’t expect that to happen.
Giants Insider Reveals When Malik Nabers Will Make His Return