Giants' Malik Nabers 'trending In The Right Direction,' But Won't Disclose Status For Week 1 Vs. Cowboys

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was once again a full participant in Thursday’s practice, but according to Nabers, his status for Sunday’s season opener against the Dallas Cowboys is still up in the air. 

Nabers, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered early last season, said he is “feeling good” and “very excited” for the regular season being here, but wouldn’t say whether or not he’s actually playing.

“What Harbs said,” Nabers responded when asked about his status. 

Head coach John Harbaugh, of course, made some headlines Wednesday when he told reporters that he would never disclose who is playing or who is starting, adamantly saying he doesn’t want to give the Cowboys a competitive advantage.

"I'm not going to tell you who is playing in the game. I'm not going to tell you who is starting, what package we have in, what play we're running,” Harbaugh said. “I'm not going to tell you any of that. So we can make it great and have a great press conference, or we can make it uncomfortable. I'm not going to tell you because what you know, the Cowboys know, and every other team knows. That's not in the competitive interest of our football team.”

Nabers followed in Harbaugh’s footsteps, saying that while the decision to play is ultimately up to him, it’s a decision that hasn’t yet been made.

“I’m just focusing on today,” Nabers said. “I had a really good day of practice, was moving well, trending in the right direction.”

He added later: “Everyone has to understand that at the end of the day it’s my career and it’s my body, and I know when I’m able to play and I know when I’m able to do what I want to do. So, everybody’s just gotta live with the decision of what I want to do with my career.”

Nabers, who had a historically strong rookie season in 2024 with 109 catches, 1,204 yards, and seven touchdowns, wouldn’t budge when asked repeatedly about his chances of playing on Sunday night.  But he did discuss all of the hard work he’s put in to get to this point, where playing in Week 1, at the very least, is a very real possibility. 

“I grinded my ass off, excuse my language,” Nabers said. “I grinded, prayed hard, put in consistent amount of work, early mornings, late nights. I put in the work and I did everything that I can to be in this position right now and be able to make the decision to play or to not play.”