While New York Giants fans presumably liked what they say from rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in his first career start—Dart led New York to a 21-18 upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers—the victory also came at a pretty expensive cost.
Star wide receiver Malik Nabers left late in the first half after suffering a severe knee injury.
The initial concern was that Nabers, who led the Giants with 16 catches, 51 yards and two touchdowns heading into Week 4, tore his ACL — and those fears were all but confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“#Giants WR Malik Nabers is believed to have torn his ACL, per me and @TomPelissero. A crushing blow,” Rapoport tweeted.
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Nabers’ injury occurred on a deep route while being defended by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart. As the second-year wideout tried to slow down and adjust for the ball, he seemingly tweaked his right knee as he leapt into the air and immediately grabbed it after landing on the turf.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported after the game that Nabers is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday morning to determine the severity of the injury, but most feel it’ll just confirm the inevitable.
If Nabers did tear his ACL, medical doctor Deepak Chona, a sports surgeon and injury expert for Fantasy Pros who’s been featured on ESPN, NBC, and The Athletic, revealed on social media how long Giants fans can expect to be without their superstar receiver.
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“His foot is planted in the turf, the knee twists inward and bends, then you see him grab it as he’s going up — all signs point toward an ACL tear,” Chona said. “The average return timeline is about 10 months, and with that, most players are able to recover their performance.
“It usually does take about a year-and-a-half for him to get all the way back to where he was, but we would expect him to eventually get back.”
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If Nabers has surgery to repair his ACL, that 10-month window would put him back on the field either next July or August, just in time for training camp. A 10-month recovery timeline may be a bit aggressive, but former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson showed it’s certainly doable.
Peterson tore his ACL in December 2011 and began running by June 2012 and was back playing in the regular season in September 2022, some 10 months after his surgery.
However, if Nabers’ needs closer to that year-and-a-half timeline, it could be closer to April 2026 before he returns. It’s possible Nabers could have a more severe injury than just an ACL tear, like that of San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk tor his ACL and MCL last October, and he’s still not close to returning nearly 12 months later. General manager John Lynch told reporters that Aiyuk could be out well past the Week 7 timeline he was given during the preseason.