Jaxson Dart excited to ‘light it up’ with Malik Nabers in Giants future
The first NFL start for Jaxson Dart was also the final game of the 2025 season for Malik Nabers.
The second-year wide receiver in Week 4 caught two passes for 20 yards from the rookie quarterback, and that was it for that youthful combination.
Nabers tore his right ACL in the 21-18 victory over the Chargers, and the Giants hope the next regular-season pass he hauls in from Dart comes in the 2026 opener.
“We’ll for sure continue to be together and light it up,” Dart said. “I’m excited. Those are conversations that we have a lot, and we’re two of some of the younger guys in the entire league at 22, so we’ve got a long future together, and there’s going to be a lot of great moments. I know that he’s been attacking this recovery process, and he’s going to come back stronger and better, and he’s going to be hungry for sure.”
On the subject of being hungry, Nabers was featured in an IHOP commercial that dropped last week, deadpanning his way through a self-deprecating script about his injury hurting those who picked him high in fantasy football, forcing an owner of a last-place team to eat pancakes all day as the punishment.
“I thought it was funny,” Dart said.
What was not amusing was Dart losing Nabers, a huge blow to the entire offense that robbed Dart of one of the top pass-catching threats in the league.
“Definitely,” Dart said. “It stings not to have him out there everywhere. He’s an incredible talent. He could beat anybody in the world. When you have a guy like that out there, he’s a safety guy who’s going to come down with the ball at all costs.”
Abdul Carter is finishing off his rookie season with a flourish. In his past four games, he has 16 tackles, six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
It is not a coincidence that Carter became more attentive after interim head coach Mike Kafka decided to withhold him from the starting lineup in two games for violating team rules.
“He’s committed to it, and we’ve talked a lot about him committing to his process and making some tweaks and changes, which is great, and it’s just been more of that,” interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen said. “He’s learned a lot in his rookie year and I think you can’t always force the process.”
With nine rushing touchdowns, Dart already has overtaken Josh Allen of the Bills for the second-most rushing TDs by a rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era. It is safe to assume Dart will not set the rookie record. Cam Newton ran for 14 touchdowns for the Panthers in 2011. … The Cowboys will be without their leading rusher, RB Javonte Williams (252-1,201, 11 TDs) and their second-leading rusher, Malik Davis (52-250).
The Giants signed three players from the practice squad: RB Dante Miller, CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse and WR Xavier Gipson. They replace three players placed on injured reserve: WR Wan’Dale Robinson, CB Cor’Dale Flott and DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches. TE Tanner Conner and DL Casey Rogers were activated from the practice squad.
