The latest news from around the division.
Giants’ Malik Nabers officially cleared to play vs. Eagles – Dan Benton, USA Today
New York gets its biggest weapon back ahead of a division duel.
After two games on the bench due to a concussion, New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers will make his return on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
After clearing the final hurdle of concussion protocol on Thursday and practicing in full, an independent neurologist officially cleared Nabers later in the afternoon.
Nabers suffered the concussion in the final moments of a Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys and faced a long trek back. At one point, head coach Brian Daboll seemed to imply that the injury was on the more serious side.
Before missing the past two weeks, Nabers had led the NFL with 35 receptions and his 386 receiving yards were good for second best.
From the Giants:
His 35 receptions through four games are the second-most in NFL history (Puka Nacua had 39 in 2023). The other two players with 30+ receptions in their first four games each went on to break the single-season rookie record (Nacua, Anquan Boldin in 2003).
Nabers also had at least five receptions in each of his first four games, tied for the fourth-longest streak to start a career since at least 1970. The three players with the longest streaks to start their careers are CeeDee Lamb (six games in 2020), Nacua (five games in 2023), and Terry Glenn (five games in 1996).
That’s a lot of offensive production the Giants are getting back.
Commanders Coach Still Believes in Struggling Young CB – Jeremy Brener, Sports Illustrated
Washington’s 2023 first-round pick has been struggling in his second season.
It’s been a rough start in the career of Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
After being chosen with the No. 16 overall pick in last year’s draft, Forbes has gotten beat plenty on the field, mainly for his size, and has been sidelined for most of his second season.
There’s a new regime in town than the one that drafted Forbes last year, but coach Dan Quinn instilled some belief in his young cornerback.
“I had that conversation specifically and kind of remind him it’s not always going to be this rocky,” Quinn said. “By the work that you put in the things that you want to emphasize, and then you work like hell to go improve upon those specific things and the chance is going to come back around. And when it does, you want to be able to go nail it. But the reason you can is because all the work that you put in, so when that chance comes again, you say, ‘Okay, I’ve put the work in, I’m ready to go do it.’ So, that was my message to him about the readiness and that next chance, it’s going to be there again and absolutely be ready for it.”
Forbes, 23, has played in just three games for the Commanders this season after dealing with being sidelined and injured, but with a long season ahead, things will start to open up potentially for him.
Forbes could have a chance to return to action in Week 7 when the Commanders host the struggling Carolina Panthers.
Eagles give Saquon advice for emotional return against former team – Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia
The former Giants star prepares to play his former team for the first time.
It’s just any other week.
You’ve heard the lies before. Whenever there’s a big game, professional athletes will lie — mostly to themselves — about the significance of that game in an attempt to steady their preparation and emotions. And it’s a worthwhile attempt.
But then ask that same player about it after the game is over and, no, it wasn’t just any other game.
And that’s what Saquon Barkley is walking into on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. He was once the Giants’ No. 2 overall pick, a Pro Bowler, the face of the franchise and now he’s returning as a member of one of their biggest division rivals.
Any other game? No way.
Of course, it’s not like Barkley is the first NFL player to play in a potential revenge game. In fact, he’s just the latest Eagle to have the experience. This week, we caught up with several of Barkley’s teammates who have been through it to see if they have any advice for him as he heads back to North Jersey.
WR A.J. Brown
The Eagles traded for Brown during the draft in 2022 after the former second-round pick had spent the first three years of his career with the Titans. Tennessee didn’t want to give him a huge contract, so they shipped him to Philly and he has since been a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the best receivers in the NFL.
“I think [Barkley is] handling it the best way he can,” Brown said. “I think the beast will probably be let out on Sunday. But he’s doing a great job keeping it one day at a time and he’s just doing what he regularly does, that’s coming to work and doing the little things.”
Brown really let out the beast the first time he faced the Titans. When they came to Philly in Week 13 of the 2022 season, Brown made them pay for their mistake. He had 8 catches for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 35-10 win.
