The hard landing that caused Malik Nabers to miss two games was apparently news to Malik Nabers.
A day after being officially cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol, the New York Giants rookie discussed the play that caused his concussion with reporters after the Giants’ practice on Friday. While answering questions about the circumstances surrounding the play, by ESPNI couldn’t remember the injury itself:
“It scared me that I couldn’t remember what happened,” Nabers said. “I don’t remember the last play I was in, so yeah, it was a little scary.
“The last thing I remember was (Jones) throwing the ball to me. That was it.”
This memory loss is not uncommon in concussions, but it is still concerning. Nabers also reportedly said he experienced headaches and palpitations in his head after the injury, which he said was the first known concussion.
On the play in question, Nabers went up to receive a sideline pass from Daniel Jones in the fourth quarter of a “Thursday Night Football” game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. Nabers was unable to get down with the ball and landed with his helmet. absorbing much of its downward momentum.
He remained down after the play and did not appear in the game again.
Nabers missed the Giants’ next two games, a win against the Seattle Seahawks and a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The concussion cut short a surprising start to Nabers’ NFL career. During Week 4, he led all NFL receivers in receptions with 35 and was tied for second in receiving yards with 386. The Giants selected him sixth overall out of LSU in the 2024 NFL Draft and did not The offense is trying to do the best it can with Daniel Jones still throwing passes.
However, that workload increases the risk of injury for Nabers, and they can only hope that the concussion is the worst problem he has this season. The team made a bet on their present by selecting him instead of a quarterback, but he is already a vital part of their future.
Nabers will now return on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was reportedly limited in practice Friday with a groin issue, but does not have any injury designation before the game.
