Next step for Nabers
Malik Nabers took a big step this week in his recovery from last year’s knee injury. The star wide receiver was able to shed the red, non-contact jersey that he previously wore as he participated in full 11-on-11 team drills.
“I thought he looked good,” Harbaugh said after Monday’s practice. “Look at the tape later, but he was moving well, probably moving the best we’ve seen him look. … It was a good practice for him today. Got the red shirt off. That was a good step.”
Taking the non-contact jersey off is certainly a step in the right direction for Nabers as he continues to work his way back from last year’s knee injury. However, Harbaugh would not make any definitive statements about the wideout being on the field for the Week 1 matchup against the Cowboys.
“I just don’t want to make any kind of statements like that,” the head coach said when asked if Nabers is trending towards playing in Week 1. “I think it’s reasonable to assume that. Those are all kind of things that you can assume. It’s just based on watching the guy practice. The only thing I know more than you guys know is what the docs and the trainers tell me, as far as his rehab. And that’s doing well. He’s doing really well with that. He’s strong. He’s in a good place, but how he gets through practice, how ready he is to play and protect himself, is really based on practice.”
O-Line depth
For the second consecutive week, the Giants traded away a backup offensive lineman in order to add to their draft capital. Last week, Daniel Faalele was sent to the Jaguars for a 2027 sixth-round pick. This week, Joshua Ezeudu was sent to the Chiefs for a 2028 seventh-round pick. Prior to the Ezeudu trade, Harbaugh spoke to the media about the team’s confidence in the guys they have in the OL room.
“I think it says we feel good about our depth, for sure,” the head coach said between the two trades. “We do feel good about our depth on the offensive line generally and inside. And it’s not too often you get a trade like that. You know, it’s not too often you can trade a player for a sixth-round pick in the middle of training camp. But sometimes teams have needs, and Daniel’s started many games in the National Football League, so they felt like that was valuable for them. With us, Daniel was doing well for the role he was going to be playing, and yet we have other guys that were doing well, too.”
While the starting offensive line has been basically set for a while now, the backup roles have been up for grabs. Part of the reason the team felt comfortable make these two trades is because of the performance of these backup linemen this summer, especially some of the younger guys. Assistant general manager Brandon Brown made sure to praise offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren for getting the most out of all of the guys up front thus far.
“It’s really a testament and a credit to Bloom,” Brown said to the media Wednesday. “Bloom’s done a really good job in terms of honing in on the details, getting guys that play our style of ball consistently and seeing it and challenging these guys. And also giving them reps at certain positions, whether that’s going from tackle to guard, guard to tackle, and finding really the most consistent combination of guys earning it and knowing that there’s going to be a competition. And it raised the floor in that room, but so much so that it created a surplus in that room where guys have value on the open market at the O line position.”
Losing Austin ‘definitely impactful’
The Giants suffered their first serious injury of training camp this week when wide receiver Calvin Austin III went down with a knee injury. Speaking after practice on Wednesday, Harbaugh said the loss of Austin is “definitely impactful” as the veteran wideout was playing well, both in the passing game and on special teams.
“He had definitely carved out a role for us on our team, and then to see that happen, especially just a non-contact type of an injury, it’s just kind of shocking to see,” Harbaugh said. “So, you feel bad for him. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. He and I were texting last night and even more this morning, so I think he’s in a better place now than he was yesterday. But it’s going to be a long road back, but he’ll get back. He’ll get back, and we’ll be behind him the whole way.”
Austin did a little bit of everything during Saturday’s preseason game in Miami. He returned two punts for 29 yards, caught two passes for 24 yards, and broke a 21-yard run.
