Last year, Brian Daboll finally found a receiver he could base his offense on. Malik Nabers delivered one of the best rookie seasons in Giants history. In 2024, he racked up 109 catches for 1,204 yards and 7 touchdowns, setting a new franchise rookie record for receptions and yards. He was the heartbeat of a struggling offense, earned Pro Bowl honors, and quickly became the Giants’ most dangerous weapon. Simply put, he didn’t just meet expectations, he smashed through them and reset the standard for rookie wideouts in New York.

Cut to 2025, and the coach is worried about his toe injury. Brian Daboll knows what he’s doing. He’s been through enough training camps to smell trouble before it shows up on the MRI. So when reporters asked about Malik Nabers’ toe, he didn’t blink. He didn’t offer false confidence either. “We’ll see as it goes,” he said. “If we have to pull back, we’ll pull back some.” That right there is the decision. Daboll’s not gambling in July.

He’s preserving the only player on offense who might scare a defense this year. Malik Nabers showed up to training camp healthy, and that alone felt like a win for Giants fans. After missing most of the spring with a lingering toe issue, there were real fears he’d start camp on the sidelines. But Brian Daboll put those worries to rest quickly on July 23. “Ready to go,” he told reporters, per Giants.com’s Dan Salomone. And just like that, Nabers avoided the injury list entirely.

That same toe had nagged him since college and flared up late last season, yet he still dropped 235 yards and 3 touchdowns in the final two games of his rookie year. He’s tough and durable. He’s clearly built for the grind. But once the Russell Wilson, Malik Nabers connection started trending, fans got whiplash. The early splash, three red-zone touchdowns in one session, had people buzzing.

On the surface, it looked like the Giants finally had a functional QB-WR duo. Still, many weren’t sold. Some fans rolled their eyes, calling it camp fluff. Others said it looked too scripted. A few even questioned if Wilson, at this stage of his career, could sustain that chemistry when things got real. It wasn’t hate. It was guarded hope. the kind New York clings to until it sees results on Sunday.

Brian Daboll still refuses to lose hope on Malik Nabers

Malik Nabers’ toe issue isn’t breaking news inside the Giants building. It’s been a quiet undercurrent since LSU, a nagging injury that never kept him off the field but never quite disappeared. Even while torching defenses in the final two weeks of his rookie season, the toe was bothering him. He just played through it, like he always has.

The concern, though, hasn’t gone away. Head coach Brian Daboll danced around questions about surgery, saying, “Yeah, I’m not going to get into injuries and conversations with that,” which sounded more like deflection than dismissal. Nabers, for his part, owned it, and admitted the surgery conversation has happened behind the scenes. “That’s not up in the air but decisions will be made when the time is made,” he told reporters. “Right now, I’m just focusing on locking in, getting ready for the season, being out there with my guys.”

There’s an edge of honesty in his voice, a 21-year-old (turning 22 on July 28) trying to play through pain while also reading the long game. “There’s been talk about (surgery). It just never really came to a complete thought in mind for me to do it,” Nabers said. “But I’ve been managing it well, been running around feeling pretty good. Everything has been going good with the rehab, so my toe is feeling better. I’m just happy to be out there with my guys now.” That’s the balance, confidence with a footnote of caution.

The Giants know what they have in Nabers, a WR1 already producing at an elite level. But they also know one wrong plant, one awkward cut, could make the toe flare up again. For now, it’s pain management and rehab. But make no mistake, this is a storyline that will hover over the season, snap to snap.