John Harbaugh gets testy as Giants’ Malik Nabers questions pile up…
The uncertainty round Malik Nabers has John Harbaugh on edge.
On a day that may’ve been celebrated for Nabers practising in full (together with every other member of the Giants) and looking out able to face the Cowboys, Harbaugh slipped from forthcoming preseason mode right into a more secretive, fiery and contentious version as he was peppered with questions about his star receiver’s availability for Sunday’s season opener.
“We can put a stop to all these questions,” Harbaugh said after Wednesday’s observe. “Because I’m not going to tell you who is playing in the game. I’m not going to tell you who is starting. I’m not going to tell you what package we have in. I’m not going to tell you what plays we are running. I’m not going to tell you any of that. So we can have a great press conference, or we can make it uncomfortable.”
“But I’m not going to tell you because when you know, the Cowboys know — or every other team we play knows. And that’s not in the competitive interest of our football team. Does that make sense? So, I think you can respect that.”
Nabers appeared easy operating, slicing and leaping during the 15-minute observe viewing window. But he has been clear since January that he’ll play for the first time since tearing his ACL and meniscus last September when he decides that he’s 100%.
There was a point in the offseason — before he averted the PUP checklist at the start of training camp — when league sources believed Nabers was eyeing an October return.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh talks to the media after observe. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“I think he’s ready to go,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll see, though. It’s still four or five days until we play. If he’s ready to go — and he feels like he’s ready to go — then he’ll play. If he’s not and he’s not ready, then he won’t play.”
Nabers was bumped round at the end of training camp to get used to contact. He has been out of the no-contact purple jersey since Aug. 24.
“You don’t do anything special,” Harbaugh said. “No, we’re not going to go tackle him in practice when we’re not having a tackling practice. We’re not scrimmaging out here today. We’re preparing for the Cowboys, and he’s preparing for the Cowboys just like everybody else on the team is.”
Giants extensive receiver Malik Nabers (1) practices. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Nabers isn’t the only receiver whose standing had Harbaugh fired up.
Speaking for the first time since the Giants cut longest-tenured participant Darius Slayton, despite being on the hook for $9 million assured and being left with 4 receivers on the 53-man roster, Harbaugh fell again on the cliché that personnel choices are made based on the team’s best short- and long-term curiosity.
But why wait until the start of Week 1?
“No strategy to it,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a lot of factors. I mean, maybe you can get a trade. Maybe you try to wait as long as you can to see if you work out a contract change, right? There’s a lot of reasons to it, which I really don’t feel obligated to explain.”
Harbaugh declined to say if Slayton was requested to take a pay reduce, which was the case in 2022.
“I appreciate the questions,” Harbaugh said. “You kind of ask them kind of in a sharp way, like you’re mad or something about it. I don’t really get the emotion coming from you [reporters], but we did it because it’s the best thing for our team.”
Stay up to date with the latest action and trending tales from the world of sports activities! C-lebrity.com brings you the freshest sports activities news, highlights, and professional insights — all fastidiously curated to maintain you informed and engaged. From major league updates to inspiring athlete tales, we cowl it multi functional place.
Visit C-lebrity.com daily for complete coverage of the games, tournaments, and sporting moments that matter most — your final source for every thing sports activities and leisure.