Giants WR Malik Nabers Won't Be Silenced Just Because He's a Rookie

Giants WR Malik Nabers cleared the air about his postgame comments and also sent a message to critics who say he should be seen and not heard.

Nov 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers doesn’t want to hear that he should be seen and not heard just because he’s a rookie.

Nabers, who this week drew attention for offering the opinion that the Giants had played “soft as f—” and who had angrily questioned why he didn’t get the ball earlier in what turned out to be a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said he met with both head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen to clear the air.

“We talked about it. They know I'm a competitor. They said, just after watching the film, they don't think that we played soft, as I said after the game,” Nabers said Tuesday. 

“After I looked at the game, it wasn't soft. It was just a lack of technique and communication, and we just didn't have the authority to go out there and win, I would say. We didn't have the grit to go out there and win the game.”

Nabers, who said he wished that he had used a different word other than “soft” to describe how the team played, said upon further review, it was a lack of technique that did the Giants in. 

“We were playing our butts off, we just lacked technique. There were a lot of things that just wasn't us as an offense,” he said. “We had great days at practice. Got into the game, just didn't do the things that we did at practice. So, when you don't go out and do the things that you did at practice, you come out a little short in the game.”

The Giants knew what they were getting personality-wise in Nabers when they made him the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft: a guy who has made no secret that he hates to lose and wants the ball as much as possible.

That attitude is a big reason why the Giants appreciate what Nabers brings to the team.  

“You want a competitor. You don't want somebody who is just happy with losing. That's just the competitor in me,” he said. “That's just how I'm wired. That's just who I am. I just don't like losing. If I feel like if I had an opportunity to help the team win, I'm going to express that.”

Nabers, who was particularly upset with having to wait until the second half to get a pass thrown his way, explained why getting involved as early as possible in a game is so important.

“If you start later in a game, it's like your body's not ready,” he said. “If you take one quarter off, two quarters off, your body just starts lacking. It's like you don't even want to play no more. 

“I'm not saying that's how I feel. I'm just saying that's your body. You're not getting involved early, then you're not getting the feel of the ball--you're not getting hit. After football plays as an offense, after you get hit, you're like, ‘All right, I'm ready to go.’ So, that's how I feel.”

He also bristled when asked if he thought he lacked the clout to speak up given his rookie status. 

“Why not? Just because I'm a rookie?” he said. “I’m a part of the team. I got added to this team to be a resource, to be somebody that can change the game. I'm not going to just sit back just because I'm a younger guy and not speak on how I feel. 

“They want me to speak up. They feel like my energy helps the offense, in a way, to be explosive. So, of course, I'm going to speak up if something doesn't go my way. That's just how I am. I'm not going to just sit back and just let it go down just because I'm a young player.

“Clout don't mean nothing. I still play football. I play it at a high level. So, whoever is saying I don't have the authority to be speaking up, that's on them. I don't care.”

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