The New York Giants' offseason moves at receiver have raised suspicion that Malik Nabers might not be ready for Week 1 as he continues to rehab from the second surgery on his injured knee.
However, general manager Joe Schoen told that he remains optimistic about Nabers' timeline, planning for the star wideout to be on the field Sept. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys.
"I still think he'll be fine Week 1," Schoen told Epstein on Monday. "So we'll see. He's trending in the right direction. Again, these things take time, so it's not instant. Every patient is different."
Nabers suffered an ACL tear in late September and underwent a second cleanup surgery to remove scar tissue earlier this offseason. News of the second surgery throttled down the questions about Nabers' timeline during June workouts.
Big Blue spent the offseason restocking the wideout room. Darius Slayton returns, and the Giants added Calvin Austin III and Darnell Mooney early in free agency and drafted Malachi Fields in the third round. Recently, they signed a trio of pass catchers in Odell Beckham, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios (also a potential returner). The recent moves added to speculation that Nabers might not be ready to face Dallas.
Schoen believes that the collective receiver room can provide enough weapons, along with tight ends Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson.
"Do we have that true No. 1 alpha 22-year-old Malik Nabers out there if he's not available? No, but I think there's enough to go," Schoen said. "There's going to be a good competition at receiver throughout camp, but there's enough for me from the backfield, the tight end position, there's enough at receiver where we'll be able to move the ball and still be a productive offense -- and it'll be a cherry on top if Malik's out there."
As we approach training camp in late July, questions will ramp up about how much Nabers can participate and whether he will indeed be ready for the start of the regular season. For now, Schoen isn't fretting that Nabers is not participating in offseason workouts, even as the Giants install a new offense.
"If he's ready to go Week 1, you told me that today, however it looks in between now and then, I don't care as long as when we roll out against the Cowboys over here that he's out and ready to go," Schoen said. "And if it's not? Again, I think we bought enough insurance that we'll still be able to move the ball and be productive."
