New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers has been managing multiple injury concerns throughout the offseason, raising questions about his availability for Week 1. The second-year star has dealt with a combination of issues that have limited his practice time and kept him out of all preseason games. Here’s the latest on Nabers’ status and what fantasy football managers need to know heading into the regular season.
Is Malik Nabers Playing Week 1?
Nabers has been managing a chronic toe injury that has plagued him since his college days at LSU. The receiver himself has described it as “like a mosquito that don’t want to go away,” acknowledging that it’s something he’ll have to manage throughout his career.
Head coach Brian Daboll has confirmed the team will monitor Nabers’ practice reps as needed to manage this ongoing issue, which is more of a nuisance than a serious concern.
The toe problem caused Nabers to miss all of the Giants’ spring workouts earlier this year. While it didn’t prevent him from having an outstanding rookie season with 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns, it’s an issue that will likely result in several limited or missed practices throughout the 2025 season.
More recently, though, it was a back injury that cost Nabers significant training camp time. He missed 12 consecutive days of practice due to what multiple sources described as “normal camp tightness”. The back issue kept him out of the Giants’ first two preseason games and raised concerns about his Week 1 availability.
However, Nabers returned to practice on August 19, participating in individual drills and appearing to move without discomfort. He downplayed the back injury as “a minor thing” and expressed confidence about his Week 1 status, telling reporters: “When it’s game time and those lights are on, I believe my body’s going to turn it on.”
Malik Nabers. Unguardable. pic.twitter.com/tPrTG0w6Ay
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 4, 2025
Nabers’ Fantasy Football Outlook
It’s easy to fall in love with Malik Nabers’s talent, and just as easy to fret about the QB situation that awaits him this season. That said, he spent last season proving to us that the former trumps the latter, and there’s no real reason to think this season will be any different.
During his standout rookie campaign, Nabers earned 29 targets on 55 routes against the Commanders (19 catches for 186 yards and a score). I was taking Nico Collins and Brian Thomas Jr. over him this summer, but don’t take that as me suggesting that you should do anything crazy this week.
Or any week.
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Nabers is the real deal and on the short list of receivers that, in four months, could be considered a Tier 1 option at the position. You’re playing him every week. My larger concern for those with Nabers rostered is that his production is a bit front-loaded this season, during the Russell Wilson days under center.
We can cross that bridge when we get to it. Still, there’s a real chance that Nabers’ name pops up on my sell-high radar in early October, understanding that, if productive, he’ll return a haul in a deal and position you better for when all of the chips are in the middle of the table.
— Kyle Soppe, PFSN Fantasy Analyst
