{"id":894125,"date":"2026-05-17T23:39:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/894125\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T23:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:39:28","slug":"3-new-york-giants-options-if-malik-nabers-is-not-ready-for-week-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/894125\/","title":{"rendered":"3 New York Giants Options If Malik Nabers Is Not Ready For Week 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was revealed last week that New York Giants<\/a> star wide receiver Malik Nabers<\/a> had a second surgery<\/a> on his knee to remove scar tissue from his ACL surgery.<\/p>\n

The Giants are hopeful that he\u2019ll be ready for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, but it\u2019s far from a guarantee that he will. With his availability for Week 1 in question, they have to entertain the possibility that he begins the season on the PUP list.<\/p>\n

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The team will be cautious with Nabers, as the goal is to have him back on the field when he\u2019s at 100%. Head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of the Giants brass will closely monitor the health of their star receiver as training camp approaches.<\/p>\n

There are a number of directions the franchise can go in if they have to start the year without its best playmaker. Here\u2019s a look at three likely scenarios the team can go with if Nabers is unavailable for the start of the season.<\/p>\n

Related: Eli Manning Reveals Big Secret About Refusal to Play for Chargers<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Credit:<\/p>\n

Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The Giants showed interest in acquiring Odell Beckham Jr<\/a> before it was revealed that Nabers had a second surgery by bringing him in for a workout. With the possibility of starting the year without their star wideout and with Darius Slayton<\/a> recovering from core muscle surgery, those interests have certainly heightened.<\/p>\n

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At 33 years old, Odell Beckham Jr wouldn\u2019t be the number one option on any team, but he\u2019s still a solid route runner with dependable hands, who can be a dependable option for Jaxson Dart<\/a>. It seems that if OBJ is going to play in 2026, it\u2019s going to be with Big Blue, as he hasn\u2019t been linked with any of the other 31 teams.<\/p>\n

Related: 2026 NFL QB Rankings After Aaron Rodgers Re-Joins Steelers<\/a><\/p>\n

Give current Giants receivers a chance\"New<\/p>\n

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

One of the biggest priorities this offseason for New York was to upgrade the receiver position. They accomplished this in free agency by signing Darnell Money and Calvin Austin III<\/a> to one-year contracts. Then they traded three draft picks to the Cleveland Browns<\/a> to move up and draft Malachi Fields<\/a> with the 74th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n

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Although none of them would be considered a true number one option of a passing game, the collection of them, along with tight end Isaiah Likely<\/a>, will be enough to keep the passing offense afloat until the Pro Bowl wideout is able to play.<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The New York Giants offense will be the most physical unit this season with the addition of 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard<\/a>. Ricard will pave running lanes for Cam Skattebo<\/a> and Tyrone Jr. In addition, he\u2019ll make them one of the most efficient teams in short-yardage situations.<\/p>\n

But the team can add a physical presence on the outside if they sign free agent wideout Deebo Samuel<\/a>. Samuel played last season with the Washington Commanders<\/a> and had 72 receptions for 727 receiving yards, with five touchdowns.<\/p>\n

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Samuel\u2019s best attributes have been his versatility, his runs after catch, and his ability to break tackles.\u00a0 Although he\u2019s 30 years old and has lost a step, the six-foot, 215-pound receiver would make the offense even more physical than it currently is. If Harbaugh wants to add another physical playmaker, Samuel would be an excellent option.<\/p>\n

Related: 4 Best Stefon Diggs Landing Spots After NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Headlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was revealed last week that New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers had a second surgery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2067],"tags":[84496,8741,746,54,257,6653,1705,7,519,4698,13,2909,27002,4126,1917,56,2321,2469,6,1510,18505,1799,111],"class_list":["post-894125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-giants","tag-acl-surgery","tag-calvin-austin-iii","tag-cam-skattebo","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-darius-slayton","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-football","tag-giants","tag-isaiah-likely","tag-jaxson-dart","tag-john-harbaugh","tag-malachi-fields","tag-malik-nabers","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-giants","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkgiants","tag-nfl","tag-odell-beckham","tag-patrick-ricard","tag-the-giants","tag-washington-commanders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116592559350373097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}