Giants' Malik Nabers not a guarantee to be ready to play Week 1 next season

There were the usual words of optimism in the Giants’ locker room on Monday, a day after the season ended. A lot of hope from the team’s young talent vowing to fix things and change the culture.

For one of those young stars, receiver Malik Nabers, that hope was tempered by how he looked as he appeared in public for the first time since tearing the ACL in his right knee in Week 4 against the Chargers.

Before Sunday’s finale, Nabers arrived at the game with a cane and a pronounced limp. He walked without the cane Monday, but the limp still was very noticeable before and after he addressed reporters in the locker room.

“I had a lot messed up in my knee, which I was told,” Nabers said. “Successfully healed, successfully operated on, but it’s going to take a little bit of time for everybody. My injury is different from somebody else. My body reacts different.”

He added that his rehab is right on track without detailing what he’s done since surgery in October. As for a possible return date? It might not be by Week 1 next season.

“My target date is when my body feels ready to be out there and I can continue to be who I am and my body feels able to do things that I was doing before,” Nabers said.

It was a less promising update than running back Cam Skattebo, who was walking more upright after a severe ankle injury ended his season in Week 8. He would like to be back by OTAs this spring but said he isn’t in a rush because the long goal is to be healthy by training camp.

Skattebo, in his first comments to reporters, said he is a week away from moving around more and increasing his speed. For now, it’s about strengthening his ankle and regaining more flexibility.

“Anything you can imagine to get the ankle moving again is what I have to get done,” Skattebo said.

If the Giants are to dig themselves out from going 4-13 this season and 7-27 over the last two years, it will come on the backs of their youth as much as veterans such as Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns.

Jaxson Dart gave the Giants reason to believe he’s their quarterback of the future. Linebacker Abdul Carter played his best ball of the season after being benched twice at the start of games. Skattebo’s brief spark added to Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s production to form a strong 1-2 punch at running back.

It’s part of why general manager Joe Schoen is confident that he can fix the roster mistakes and hire the right coach after ownership reaffirmed Monday that he will be retained through next season.

“There’s pieces in place that also make this an attractive job,” Schoen said. “So looking at where we’re going, where the build is, what the plan is, moving forward and seeing the vision through is why I think that’s the case.”

The Giants’ job indeed will be attractive, given the talent potential. But the coach who sells the best plan also must clean things up after years of futility. The Giants have made the playoffs only twice since winning the Super Bowl after the 2011 season.

It helps that the younger players don’t feel much of the weight of that history. Dart has talked about his optimism that the defeats of his rookie season will make winning feel better down the road. He echoed that message Monday, thinking about the potential on the roster to change things sooner rather than later.

“We have really good pieces here,” he said. “We just got to put it all together, and we’re not far off.”

It’s important to get a key piece healthy in Nabers. Two months after his ACL surgery, his limp is a reminder that dreams of improving can be dashed by poor health.

Nabers’ injury helped changed the course of this season. His recovery will do the same next season as he slowly works his way back.

“It’s tough, it’s hard, but I feel like for myself, I needed this,” he said. “I needed to get back where I once was, finding hunger. So I feel like this is a blessing in disguise that I don’t really see yet.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.