EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers couldn’t remember the end of the play two weeks ago when he suffered a concussion against the Dallas Cowboys. He said the video showed him that he was unconscious during the play.
The whole situation was “scary” according to the rookie receiver.
Nabers, who is scheduled to return this weekend when the Giants host the Philadelphia Eagles, has missed the past two games due to a concussion he suffered on Oct. 3 when his face hit the turf hard while trying to deflect a pass from quarterback Daniel Jones.
“It was scary when I couldn’t remember what happened,” Nabers said. “I can’t remember the last play I was in, so yeah, it was kind of scary.
“The last thing I remember was… [Jones] Throw me the ball. That was it.”
Nabers said he suffered headaches and throbbing sensations in his head after the injury. No other symptoms were identified. This was his first known concussion.
The seventh pick in this year’s draft was removed from the concussion protocol on Thursday, two weeks to the day after suffering the injury. He was limited in practice Friday because of a hip issue that he says dates back to college. The Giants don’t seem to think it’ll be a problem.
Coach Brian Daboll said Nabers’ groin “stressed” during Thursday’s practice. So the team simply took precautions. Nabers was not given an injury designation on Sunday and is expected to be able to handle whatever workload the game plan dictates.
Running back Devin Singletary (groin) will also return to face the Eagles. Singletary has missed the past two games as well.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (hip) and outside linebacker Brian Burns (groin) were officially listed as questionable on Sunday. But both insisted all week that they would play.
Nabers’ return comes after two weeks of close monitoring on and off the field. He was criticized during that time on social media for attending a Travis Scott concert with bandmate Isaiah Simmons while he was still in protocol.
Nabers said Friday that he informed the Giants before attending the ceremony. He declined to discuss the team’s specific reaction.
“Yes, it will always be me,” he said. “I mean, this is the life I choose to live. This is what comes with the job. But at the end of the day, I still have my own life. I still have my personal life, so I’m going to continue with that.” In order to have my personal life, I will continue to watch my back and continue to have my personal life.
Nabers quickly learns that he is in the spotlight playing in New York. Everyone seems to have an opinion.
He mentioned X (formerly Twitter) and acknowledged his inability to completely avoid outside comment about attending the concert. Some are sent to his phone by friends and family.
He tries not to be too affected by criticism.
“I mean, that’s their business. If they look up what causes concussions, what makes it worse, and online if they say it’s the lights, the headphones.” [loud noises]”That’s on them,” Nabers said. “I didn’t experience anything with the lights. They asked me if I had a problem with the lights, and I told them no. I had problems with the sound, I told them no. … I’ve been playing loud music since I knew [about] Concussion in the car. Go out with the lights on. I played the game with lights. So I mean, I didn’t have anything with my eyes. It didn’t make my head hurt. “The sound wasn’t making my head hurt so I was fine.”
Nabers said he was very nervous about returning to the field.
He just had to be patient while missing two games and watching his team score just one touchdown in Sunday night’s 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“My health is really the most important thing,” Nabers said. “So I wasn’t really down. It was just a matter of getting back out there when I felt okay.”
That time is now.
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