Giants’ Season Goes From Bad to Worse With Nabers Injury

The New York Giants’ season just goes from bad to worse, with star wide receiver Malik Nabers set to undergo surgery this week to address the severe knee injury he sustained in Week 4, effectively ending his 2025 NFL season. Nabers suffered a torn ACL and a torn meniscus while attempting to catch a deep pass from quarterback Jaxson Dart early in last Sunday’s commanding victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. According to reports from NFL insider Adam Schefter, Nabers is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to participate in the 2026 training camp. Optimism surrounds his prognosis, with medical staff hopeful that if Nabers’ knee, toe, and labrum all heal properly, he will enter the 2026 season healthier and stronger than he has been since his high school days.

Nabers made an unforgettable impact as a rookie in 2024, setting a franchise record for the Giants with 109 receptions, accumulating 1,204 yards, and scoring seven touchdowns. This exceptional performance ranks second in NFL history for rookie receivers, trailing only the Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, who caught 112 passes last season. So far in the 2025 season, before his injury, Nabers had already made 18 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns. His total of 127 receptions over the first 19 games of his NFL career positions him to become the second-fastest player in league history to reach such numbers, trailing only Odell Beckham Jr. in catches through 20 games.

With this injury, MetLife Stadium, home to both the Giants and the New York Jets, has been brought up as a potential health risk due to the number of injuries sustained there. MetLife underwent an upgrade in 2023 with the installation of a new version of FieldTurf known as the FieldTurf Core system. This upgrade was specifically aimed at reducing injury rates on the playing surface. According to the NFL, MetLife Stadium recorded one of the lowest injury rates last year compared to other venues using either natural grass or synthetic turf. Interestingly, league data indicates that there were fewer ACL injuries reported on synthetic turf than on grass during the 2024 season, with injury numbers remaining consistent so far this year.

Despite improvements, at least 15 significant knee ligament or Achilles injuries have occurred at MetLife Stadium since 2020, though most of these cases predate the turf upgrade in March 2023. Noteworthy injuries before the turf change include Jaelan Phillips and Aaron Rodgers, both suffering Achilles tears in 2023, as well as knee injuries to Wan’Dale Robinson and Sterling Shepard in 2022. The stadium has also witnessed major ankle injuries to star wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall back in 2017.

With Nabers now gone for the rest of the year, New York will have to find another way to get their big explosive plays. It’s been reported that the team is not currently looking to outsource talent for a potential fix, but will instead focus on players in-house. This should prove vital in seeing what NY really has in the likes of Jaylin Hyatt and rookie Beaux Collins, who will both be asked to step up in Nabers’ absence.