EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers is going to be given all the time he needs to get over his left ankle sprain.
Nabers, the No. 6 pick overall in the draft, twisted his ankle running a route in practice on Sunday and missed roughly the final 30 minutes of the workout. He did not practice Monday and wasn’t on the field.
Coach Brian Daboll would not speculate on whether the LSU product will play Saturday when the Giants travel to Houston to face the Texans. He said Nabers, who has been a star of training camp with his big-play pass-catching ability, was sore Monday.
“We’ll back off him, take it day to day, but that’s where we’re at with him,” said Daboll, who said he did not think Nabers fractured his ankle.
Nabers played briefly in the Giants win over Detroit in their preseason opener on Thursday and did not catch a pass.
Because Nabers has shown so much early, Daboll was asked about his status several times.
“Yeah, look, if he’s ready to play, then he’ll play,” the third-year head coach said. “And if they say, ‘we need to back off’, we need to back off. So, you’d like to see everybody be able to be out there and play, but you understand this is a contact sport. So, I think every team goes through it. And if the guys are ready to play, they’ll play. If they’re not, they won’t.”
Backup quarterback Drew Lock, who started the preseason opener and had to leave late in the first quarter with a hip injury, has been impressed by Nabers.
“He’s going to be a game-changer the first day he steps out there,” Lock said Monday. “People are going to have to worry about him, teams are going to have to worry about him. That’s going to help everybody on this team. He’s been impressive.”
Lock is not sure of his own status for Saturday. He said he was hit on his left side and believes he is getting better and has thrown the past two days.
Daniel Jones is expected to start the game at quarterback. It will be his first game action since tearing an ACL in Las Vegas in November.
Daboll said he wants to see the 27-year-old practice all week before saying whether he will play. Tommy DeVito, who played the final three quarters against the Lions, is scheduled to play for New York.
The team’s emergency quarterback for the game is free agent tight end Tyree Jackson, who was a quarterback in college at Buffalo.
“That would be funny,” Lock said of Jackson. “Me and him trained together back when we were getting ready for the (NFL) combine. I’ve seen him with the quarterback dreams. He’s moved on. He’s working with the tight ends, but, if he had to, he can get back there and do it. The guy can sling it.”
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