Giants confirm WR Malik Nabers has torn ACL

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is out for the season with a torn right ACL, coach Brian Daboll confirmed on Monday.

Nabers was carted off the field in the second quarter of the Giants' 21-18 victory Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.

He was injured as he jumped for a downfield pass from rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart with 6:12 remaining in the first half. As the pass fell incomplete, Nabers immediately grabbed for his right knee as he went to the ground.

"He's one of our better players. I think one of the better players at his position in the league, so he has an ACL, so he'll be out," Daboll told reporters Monday. "We'll have a tremendous amount of support for him and his family."

Nabers, 22, entered Week 4 leading New York in receptions (16), receiving yards (251) and receiving touchdowns (two). Before departing Sunday, he had two receptions on three targets for 20 yards.

"That's obviously a tough loss for our football team, but we'll regroup, and we'll get the guys ready to play that are here and be as good as we can be," Daboll said. "On the perimeter, I know those guys will do everything they can do to be as good as we can be. But certainly, when you lose one of your better players, that's a big loss."

Wan'Dale Robinson, who now shares the team lead with 18 catches in 2025, and tight end Theo Johnson were both targeted five times in the win over the Chargers. Robinson suffered the same injury -- a right ACL tear -- in November 2022, also on the MetLife Stadium turf and was ready for training camp in August 2023.

Veteran Darius Slayton is third on the team with 135 yards on nine receptions, with no other wideouts having recorded a catch through four games for the 1-3 Giants. Nabers' absence is expected to increase snaps for some combination of Jalin Hyatt, Beaux Collins and Gunner Olszewski. Journeyman Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Dalen Cambre and Ihmir Smith-Marsette are candidates to be elevated from the practice squad, and the Giants could also look to add a current free agent to the mix.

"We had obviously a lot of confidence in the three guys that we have. Malik goes down and we have confidence in the guys that are behind them," Daboll said. "Whether it's Beaux, whether it's Hyatt, Gunner knows multiple roles. We have some guys on the practice squad that we like. So, we'll get ready to play with the guys that we have and I'm confident in all those guys."

Last season, Nabers set an NFL rookie record for receivers with 109 catches, also establishing a new franchise mark for the Giants. He totaled 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games (13 starts) last season en route to being named to the Pro Bowl.

The Giants selected Nabers with the sixth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU.

Daboll added that Dart was "doing good" on Monday after saying post game that he expected the rookie to be sore after absorbing several hits against the Chargers. Dart is expected to practice Wednesday ahead of this weekend's game at New Orleans.

"You never want your quarterback taking a lot of hits, but certain quarterbacks are going to play a certain way. And there's a lot of good ones in this league that play a certain way," Daboll said. "We're going to try to do everything we can to protect Jaxson. I don't question when he's got the ball in his hands, him making the right decision.

"You can see maybe a play and say, 'Hey, think about sliding here, bud.'

"I was very pleased with the command that he had, the decisions that he made. We got a lot of work to do. I know there's going to be some downs along with some of these ups, but I think he's got the right makeup and we'll put this game to bed and get ready for next week, starting in about an hour."

--Field Level Media