Nabers speaks for first time since last season

If Wednesday was a first for Malik Nabers in practicing since his ACL/meniscus surgery, Thursday brought another first: his first press conference with the media since last season ended in January.

Nabers sounded happy talking about his second day of training camp. Similar to Wednesday, he only did receiver drills and offense-only install. He did some work on the side but stayed on the field longer watching practice. Instead of heading inside the Greenbrier facility 50 minutes into practice, he walked in a few minutes before practice ended.

"It felt good to be out there with the guys. Get a couple throws. Just move around," Nabers said. "I haven't moved around in a long time but running routes felt good out there."

With fans in attendance for the first practice open to the public, Nabers did just enough to show how far along he is in rehab. But he wouldn't commit to playing in Week 1 just yet, which followed what general manager Joe Schoen and coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday.

For now, his mindset is about "stacking days" and seeing how his knee improves. But there's no firm plan yet to be ready by Sept. 13, when the Giants open the season against the Cowboys.

"No target dates. Just continue to listen to the training staff," Nabers said. "They continue to ask me questions and when I'm ready, I'm ready."

Even with that, Nabers was confident he'll be a better player than he was as a rookie, when he caught 109 passes for 1,209 yards and seven touchdowns while making the Pro Bowl.

That's not just recovery-speak. It's Nabers raising the bar for himself knowing he could've done more in 2024, and he wants to push himself even beyond just being healthy again. It's still a slow process, but Nabers vowed that he won't just be back, he'll be a better receiver.

"What I was before, what y'all saw my rookie year, I felt that was basic," Nabers said. "I got high standards for myself and I know everybody has high standards for me also. But the standard that I hold myself to is very high and I feel like whatever that standard that I hold myself to, you will see sooner or later."

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

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.