Giants' Malik Nabers tore his ACL vs. Chargers
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is injured on this play against the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 28, 2025. Credit: Ed Murray
The Giants’ worst fears for Malik Nabers were confirmed Monday when an MRI revealed the star receiver has a torn ACL in his right knee, coach Brian Daboll said.
The injury ends Nabers’ season after four games. Nabers, who was placed on injured reserve, had two catches on Sunday before hurting his knee while attempting to make a catch in the second quarter of the Giants’ 21-18 win over the Chargers.
“That's obviously a tough loss for our football team, but we'll regroup,” Daboll said. “We'll get the guys ready to play that are here and be as good as we can be. 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.”
Nabers, in his second season, had 18 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns, all team highs. As a rookie, he had 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games.
Nabers also made the Pro Bowl and was a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. His 109 catches was a franchise single-season record and his 127 career receptions are the second most in NFL history through a player’s first 19 games behind former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (133).
“Malik’s one of one,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said Sunday. “So when you have a guy like that on the field, you have all the confidence in the world that he can just be a dominant game-changer. But I thought from that moment, obviously it's really hard seeing one of your best friends go down."
Daboll declined to say if the Giants could add another receiver, whether it be a veteran free agent or a practice-squad signing. Still, there’s a gaping hole in an offense that’s hard to replace.
The Giants will turn to Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson to help lead the receiving corps. It could mean more reps for third-year receiver Jalin Hyatt, who played a season-high 29 snaps Sunday, or undrafted rookie Beaux Collins (21 snaps Sunday).
Slayton, the Giants’ leader in receiving yards in 2022 and 2023, said he was ready for the challenge to help fill Nabers’ shoes.
“I prepared for this. This is what I prepared for in the offseason,” Slayton said Sunday. “Obviously it’s going to be a group effort, but we’ll be able to get the job done going forward.”
Without Nabers, the Giants had just 110 yards of offense in the second half and averaged 3.06 yards per play. The longest of their six second-half drives went for 45 yards.
Dart threw just nine passes after halftime, completing six for 52 yards, while battling a hamstring injury. Daboll said Dart is “doing good” and expected him to practice Wednesday. His job, however, just got a lot harder without his No. 1 receiver.
Even with Nabers healthy for a quarter and a half, Dart didn’t complete a pass longer than 18 yards. Hyatt and Collins weren’t targeted as Dart focused more on Slayton, Robinson and tight end Theo Johnson.
Instead, the Giants focused more on the ground game with 42 carries. Daboll said the game plan will change each week and that was just what the game dictated against the Chargers.
Dart said the Chargers’ defense took away the deep passing game so they worked on hitting them with short passes or more runs with him and Cam Skattebo.
“I thought we controlled the game well. Over 40 rushes in a game always helps a young quarterback,” Daboll said. “But again, we just did what we thought we needed to do for this week.”
The plan gets harder with Nabers sidelined. It means teams might load up the box to try and stop the run game. It also means Dart, who ran for 54 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, has to be more careful taking hits on runs.
In consecutive weeks, the Giants have lost both running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (shoulder) and Nabers. Tracy is expected to miss at least 1-3 more weeks but wasn’t wearing a sling on the sidelines like he did after last week.
It’s more good news tempered by Nabers’ loss. Now the Giants have to move forward with their best offensive weapon not expected back until 2026.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
