Giants Injury Update: Schmitz Gets Bell Rung, Nabers Trending Toward Week 1

The toughest stretch of training camp is winding down, but for the New York Giants, the nicks and bruises are starting to pile up.

Already, the team will be without slot cornerback Dru Phillips, who suffered a sprained knee in Thursday’s practice, and whom head coach John Harbaugh said would be sidelined “for a little bit.”

In Friday’s session, the penultimate practice for the team at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, starting center John Michael Schmitz, running back Cam Skattebo, outside linebacker Brian Burns, and defensive lineman Anquin Barnes Jr. were among those who were nicked up.

The most significant injury from the practice appears to be Schmitz, who, according to head coach John Harbaugh, had his bell rung. Schmitz was replaced by Lucas Patrick, who has also been bothered by a knee issue.

The Giants, who hosted eight players for a workout on Wednesday that included four interior offensive linemen, signed center Brenden Jaimes, one of those who was part of the workout.

Jaimes was originally a fifth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Chargers out of Nebraska in 2021. He spent four seasons with the Chargers. He was in training camp with the Tennessee Titans last summer, but after not making the roster, he landed with the Patriots practice squad at the start of the season, seeing just one game late in the season.

The Giants waived cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse with an injury desingation in order to open a roster spot for Jaimes.

Burns has been dealing with what Harbaugh said is a “minor ankle injury.” He was held out of team drills earlier in the camp for a couple of days, but had since returned to the field. Burns apparently got rolled up on during the practice, but Harbaugh didn’t seem overly concerned that Burns, who came out of the practice early, might be sidelined for any length of time.

Harbaugh also wasn’t specific regarding Skattebo’s issue other than to say that the second-year running back is still working back into football shape and that whatever it was he experienced is “nothing serious.”

A Look at Nabers’ Current Recovery Plan

Jul 30, 2026; White Sulphur Springs, WV, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) walks into a media interview after practice during training camp at The Greenbrier Resort Sports Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ever since training camp opened, the Giants have been cautiously optimistic about having wide receiver Malik Nabers back in time for Week 1 against Dallas.

Nabers, who is on a workload management plan, seems to be progressing well with each passing day. While he has not yet done full team drills, he has been moving a lot better than expected at this stage.

“Yeah, I've noticed that too,” Harbaugh said. “I feel like Allie (Allison Boudreau), who is our coordinator for return to play in the training room, she's working with him on situations where you're off balance, up, landing off balance, and unpredictable type situations that you're gonna get rather than just doing normal rehab and then going out there and all of a sudden being surprised by the awkwardness of football.”

Harbaugh didn’t indicate what the next stage in Nabers’ recovery might be, but it would not be surprising if by next week, he starts to do a little bit in team drills run at a faster tempo than the walkthrough pace in which he participates on Thursday.

“Yeah, he'll be working his way back into practice more and more,” Harbaugh said. “We'll see what he's ready to do each day.”

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