NY Giants WR Malik Nabers Offers Rehab Update, Talks New IHOP Ad

Malik Nabers talked rehab, 2026, and IHOP pancakes in an exclusive interview with the New York Giants On SI.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is progressing well in his rehab following ACL surgery. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The moment New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers went down with a season-ending ACL injury in a Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, scores of Giants and fantasy football fans had their hearts broken.

Though the injury was not Nabers's fault, to make it up to them, the receiver, who was coming off a stellar rookie season in which he topped the 1,000-yard mark, teamed up with IHOP to promote the chain’s new “Bottomless Pancakes” promotion that kicks off January 5, 2026, at participating locations.

The promotion honors an age-old tradition in which fantasy football enthusiasts who finish last in their league’s championship race typically spend 24 hours at their local IHOP indulging in the restaurant’s world-famous pancakes. 

“I think it's pretty good that they're doing something like that," Nabers told New York Giants On SI in an exclusive interview. 

“If you finished at the bottom of your fantasy group, you're still coming out a winner because you still get to go eat unlimited pancakes at IHOP for 24 hours.”

Nabers’s IHOP spot, which debuted on Christmas Day, showed him catching verbal flak from a pair of fans who had counted on him to help fantasy football teams this past season.  

In reality, though, no one was more broken up about not being able to play football for most of this season than the self-professed lover of IHOP’s confetti pancakes, who has been hard at work rehabbing from a torn ACL and the ensuing surgery.

“It's been coming along pretty well,” Nabers said. “Been doing all the right things, going in and out and doing rehab. So everything is moving well according to trainers, doctors, and staff.”

A Bigger and Better Giants Offense is Brewing 

Giants fans–and yes, fantasy football owners–can only dream right now at what a Giants offense that features the young core of quarterback Jaxson Dart, running backs Tyrone Tracy and Cam Skattebo, Nabers, and tight end Theo Johnson will look like in 2026 once a new head coach and offensive coordinator are brought on board.

“We had a short time to build a connection,” Nabers said of playing with Dart, who made his debut as an NFL starter in Week 4, the same week Nabers suffered his season-ending ACL injury. 

“At the beginning of the season, I was playing with Russell Wilson, so I never really got time to be around (Dart) a lot, and learn how he throws the ball and how he operates.”

Learning more about Dart will come soon enough, however. As Nabers passes each milestone in his rehab, it won’t be long before he gets down to business in building up that all-important rapport with Dart and the rest of the offense.

In the meantime, Nabers, who has been around the facility as he continues his rehab, said he’s doing what he can to learn as much as possible about his quarterback.  

“I'm very excited,” Nabers said. “I can't wait until the timing is right for me to go out there and be with those guys again.”

The 22-year-old Nabers, the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, said he has very good vibes about what the Giants offense could become, given its core talent. 

“We have a lot of great players–young talent," he said. "If you continue to do the right things, lead in an orderly manner, follow our leaders that are being placed on the team, and continue to have each other's back when we’re out in the field, then yes, I do feel like the sky is the limit." 

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