The New York Giants took the practice field on Wednesday for their first full practice of the season. However, they took the field with one key player missing — superstar WR Malik Nabers.
Malik Nabers is absent from practice as he nurses a lingering toe injury
According to head coach Brian Daboll, Nabers is still nursing a toe injury that has been lingering for quite some time.
“We’re being mindful of his toe that he’s had,” said Daboll, who added that the wide receiver did not require a procedure. “Nothing serious, but we’re being smart with him in terms of the rehab part of it. So that’s where we’re at.”
Daboll also added that this toe injury has not only bothered Nabers since last season, but since the season before that, too.
“Yeah, he’s had that,” Daboll explained. “He’s had it for a while, back in college, too, so just trying to be smart.”
Nabers seemingly played through toe pain during his 2023 collegiate season at LSU — a dominant All-American campaign that earned him his No. 6 overall draft spot.
Giants are being smart with Nabers’ injury recovery
The Giants have nothing to gain and everything to lose by putting Nabers on the practice field at OTAs.
There is nothing that they need to learn about the second-year wide receiver. They know they have a dominant, superstar, WR1 in their ranks.
OTAs are unpadded, non-contact practices. The padded practices don’t begin until the end of July when training camp kicks off. That’s when the practice reps become far more valuable, and when the Giants will want Nabers on the field.
For now, the Giants are being smart with Nabers and his recovery, giving him plenty of time to get his body right for a crucial upcoming 2025 season.
