Malik Nabers Could Shed No-Contact Jersey This Week, Harbaugh Says

The Giants' star receiver is nearing another milestone in his return from a torn ACL.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers could be ready to take the next step forward in his return from an ACL injury. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It’s been a long road back for New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers from his ACL injury suffered last season in Week 4. Still, the third-year receiver could be on the verge of taking yet another significant step forward toward a Week 1 return.

Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that there was a “possibility” that Nabers, who over the last week-plus has been practicing wearing the red “no contact” jersey, could shed that garment from his locker this week.

"That's a possibility," Harbaugh said. "We'll just have to see where that's at. I don't think it's a necessity this week. We're still three weeks out from the game, the first game and then after that. We'll see where he's at this week. We'll see how he feels tomorrow."

Nabers, who is not expected to play in the preseason finale Friday night against the Jets, has been shielded from having contact in team drills.

Harbaugh has declined to mention a firm date for Nabers to take the next step, but he did say that he didn’t think the receiver would spend the rest of the summer in the red jersey.  

“He'll be out of a red jersey before he plays in a game,” Harbaugh said last week. “He's going to have to get bumped around. You just have to feel that and know how to deal with it to protect yourself.”

“There are certain formulas that we use that kind of tell us what the risk factors are in practice,” he added.

“That's part of it with him. It's also to your eye. It's also how he feels, and then ultimately with the doctors. So, I think you do it slowly, and you just keep building to the point where it's not like all of a sudden he's doing something, and now he's doing everything. You work your way towards that.”

Other Injury Updates

Harbaugh said that offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu was kicked in the back of the leg in the team’s 26-3 preseason win over Miami, an injury that forced him out of the game preamturely.

The good news is that the injury is not beleived to be serious and that the young offensive lineman, who has been snake-bit throughout his entire NFL career, would be day-to-day.

Harbaugh also said he anticipated having offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, who suffered a stinger in the joint practice with the Dolphins, and cornerback Colton Hood, who was sidelined most of last week with an undisclosed ailment, back at practice this week.

Otherwise overall the Giants came out of Saturday's preseason game clean injury-wise.

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