Heading into the 2026 NFL season, several questions remain unanswered for the New York Giants. However, there may be none bigger than the speculation surrounding Malik Nabers, who has yet to return from the torn ACL and meniscus injuries he suffered last year. According to a report, not only does Nabers’ timeline affect both the Giants and the wide receiver himself, but it could also be decisive in determining whether JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios make the team.
Indeed, the Giants made an unexpected roster move to make room for Smith-Schuster and added Berrios to New York’s revamped wide receiver depth chart alongside Odell Beckham Jr. However, Berrios’ and Smith-Schuster’s spots on the 53-man roster are far from set in stone.
According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, whether Berrios and JuJu make the team could go hand in hand with whether Nabers is active or not to start the season. Although Nabers will reportedly avoid injured reserve (IR), he could still miss over a month in the 2026 NFL campaign, and that prospect plays a big role on how John Harbaugh will build his team.
“If Nabers doesn’t go on PUP, you’re cutting Berrios,” Dunleavy said during an appearance on the NY Giants Rush podcast. “Or you keep him on the practice squad, assuming that [the Giants] can. [Berrios] might say ‘somebody else will take me’.” The same logic applies to Smith-Schuster and his bid to make the team.
Braxton Berrios has joined the NY Giants.
Giants’ WRs will compete for spots
Most NFL teams go into the season with a six-man wide receiver room. Some might carry seven, but few exceed that number. The way the Giants are trending, there may not even be a roster spot to battle for during OTAs and training camp.
Malik Nabers (unless he lands on the PUP list, which would not occupy a roster spot), Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Malachi Fields, Odell Beckham Jr., and Calvin Austin all appear to be locks to make the team—barring any injuries or setbacks.
That leaves room for just one more wideout to make the 53-man roster, if that. Berrios may have an upper hand over Smith-Schuster and the rest of the team’s wide receivers because he’s equipped to play on special teams. But even that may not be enough to earn John Harbaugh’s nod. If needed, Fields and Austin could also take on that role.
Giants running out of WR spots
Roster spots don’t grow on trees. As plentiful as 53 may seem, they fill up in the blink of an eye. Before teams know it, they’re dealing with only a handful of vacancies. If the Giants choose to roll with a seven-man receiving corps, it means taking a chair away from another position group’s meeting room. And as injury-riddled as their current WR room is, there are far more vulnerable position groups across the NFL that see players go down every week.
Moreover, if the G-Men are truly confident in what they’re building on offense, they should be comfortable carrying six receivers, with Nabers potentially coming off the PUP list at some point during the season. New York stayed busy all offseason long.
It may already be too late to reverse course if the team suddenly has cold feet about how it built its roster. The season opener is more than 100 days away—that’s a fact. But just as 53 can be a deceiving number, so can 100.
JuJu Smith-Schuster at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
NY Giants don’t have that much time
Before they know it, the Giants may be gearing up for a Sunday night showdown against the Cowboys. Whether Nabers will be on the practice field by then, nobody knows. New York certainly hopes so, but there have been few signs suggesting his recovery timeline will be met.
On the contrary, reports continue to pile up suggesting otherwise. Nabers could indeed be headed for the PUP list. It may not be the end of the world, though. At least for Berrios and Smith-Schuster, it should provide hope of making the active roster in East Rutherford. If not, they may find themselves back on the street searching for a new NFL home.
The league moves fast, and although in the offseason it doesn’t always feel that way, the clock is ticking. The Giants will have to make a crucial call soon enough.
