The NFL season begins on Wednesday, though the first Sunday Night Football of the season may be where the fireworks occur — especially given a star's recent update. NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are set to face off Sunday night in the Meadowlands, pitting the Cowboys' high-octane passing attack against the young core of the Giants. While the Cowboys' receiving tandem of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will grab the headlines, the Giants have a star receiver of their own: Malik Nabers.
The young wideout tore his ACL last season, putting in danger his ability to play in the season opener, but on Tuesday, Giants fans got good news. The Giants released receiver Darius Slayton, which ESPN's Giants reporter Jordan Raanan said bodes well for Nabers' health. "Consider this informed speculation on my part on Malik Nabers," he wrote on social media.
"Seems to be trending in a positive direction." On "Get Up," ESPN's NFL reporter Dan Graziano seemed to agree with Raanan's assessment, noting that the coaching staff was pleasantly surprised with how well Nabers was progressing in his injury recovery this summer. "It sounds like he's going to be good to go for Sunday night, which is massive for the Giants," Graziano said. If Nabers, a Pro Bowler in his rookie season, can get back on track after missing all but four games in his second season, the Cowboys should be worried.
In those four games, he had 18 receptions for 271 yards and two scores, putting him on pace to exceed the seven touchdowns of his rookie season. Per Football Reference, if Nabers were to play a full 17-game season, he's likely rack up 1,320 yards, 114 catches and eight touchdowns — truly elite numbers for an NFL wide receiver. Of course, nobody has seen Nabers in a full-speed game since the injury, so it's hard to say for sure how impactful he will be.
That said, we should have a better idea on Sunday night.
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