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Jordan Raanan
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One of the final players to make it into the locker room before the New York Giants closed out their 2025 season last Sunday was injured wide receiver Malik Nabers.
He was moving slowly with a single crutch tucked underneath his right arm pit. His right knee was held in place by a bulky brace.
It was a little bit jarring to see Nabers like this 9+ weeks after surgery.
“I had a lot messed up in my knee,” Nabers said the day following the injury.
But the talented wide receiver who was injured in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers insists he’s doing well. The outlook is positive.
“Successfully healed. Successfully operated on,” Nabers said. “But it’s going to take a little bit of time for everybody. My injury is different from somebody else. My body reacts different.
“I was walking with a cane before I could see a doctor. Then they told me I could get off it. So now I don’t got to do it. Just taking precautions to make sure the injury is healed.”
Nabers admitted originally it was a hard pill to swallow. After exploding onto the scene with 1,204 receiving yards as a rookie, he didn’t make it through his first game with rookie Jaxson Dart at quarterback.
It forced some introspection.
“It’s tough. It’s hard. For myself, I needed this,” Nabers said. “I needed to get back to where I once was. Get that hunger. It’s a blessing in disguise that I don’t really see yet. I had a talk with (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) and I kept asking him, ‘Why did it happen to me? Why did it happen to me?’ And he said, ‘Why not you? Why not go back to the bottom and find your way back to the top?’
“I’m taking that in my mind, taking that in my head and attacking rehab as much as I can. Doing what I can.”
Now the question is when Nabers will be healthy enough to get back on the field. Right now, that is unknown, even if the start of the regular season is 11 months post-surgery.
He wasn’t ready in early January to commit to Week 1.
“Not really sure,” he said of his expected return. “If my body doesn’t feel right, then I’m not going to go out there.”
While Nabers isn’t quite sure when he’s going to be back, rookie running back Cam Skattebo is aiming at the summer.
“Training camp for sure is the goal,” Skattebo said on Monday.
Skattebo suffered an open tibia fracture, ruptured deltoid ligament and dislocated his right ankle in October against the Philadelphia Eagles. But he’s already been seen jogging in the team facility and says his rehab is on track.
Right now, it’s all about getting full movement back in his foot. That’s not so easy given the extent of the injury.
“Getting my dorsiflexion in the foot is the main thing obviously,” Skattebo said. “I was stuck in a boot for eight weeks. Just strengthening it up. I broke my bone and dislocated my ankle. So anything you can imagine to get the ankle moving again is what I have to get up.”
That the injury wasn’t worse considering how it looked is incredible. Skattebo, however, said he tried to get up and didn’t really feel the pain when it was first injured. By the time he was in the X-ray room, it was already back in place.
There isn’t a doubt in the mind of the fourth-round pick out of Arizona State that he will return to the same level.
“That’s not even a question,” Skattebo said. “I’m going to be back. I played seven games in the NFL and I got hurt. There’s a long road ahead but that is not going to stop me.”
The Giants finished 13th in total offense (333.5 ypg), 17th in points per game (22.4). They were 28th in total defense (359.5 ypg) and 26th in points per game allowed (25.8). Nobody would have predicted that split at the start of the season.
The offense was supposed to be the concern, but it was the defense that was a disappointment. There is no way around it considering the money and assets invested. The Giants’ two most expensive free agent signings were on that side of the ball along with their top draft pick (Abdul Carter third overall).
Now the defense did improve dramatically over the final five games under interim coordinator Charlie Bullen. They were 10th in total defense during that time allowing 298.4 yards per game, one spot ahead of the Houston Texans and one behind the Denver Broncos.
Based on the results and the talent, there seems to be a belief that the problem was in the coaching. General manager Joe Schoen even pointed out that the talent on that side should be enticing for whoever takes over.
“Defensively, they’ve got (edge) rushers. They’ve got (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence in the middle,” he said. “You know, (safety) Jevón Holland, (cornerback) Paulson Adebo. I could probably work with that.”