WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — Malik Nabers insists he does not know what the “PUP” list means — the place where players land if they are physically unable to perform at the start of training camp.
At least this year, he doesn't need to. He's on the field at camp with the New York Giants, and all eyes are on the No. 1 receiver who is starting to regain his previous dynamic form.
Now 10 months removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee and still on a lengthy road back from the injury, Nabers is not yet a full participant in practice. But the Giants' No. 1 receiver is running routes at full speed during individual drills and sparking optimism that he'll be healthy enough to play in a game sooner than later.
“It felt good," Nabers said Thursday after the second practice of camp in the mountains of West Virginia. “I mean, I might not show it. I like to be a person that you never know my facial expressions. I’m always just smooth and calm. But it felt good to be out there with the guys, get a couple throws, just move around.”
Nabers, who turned 23 on Tuesday, sounded more hopeful about his future than he did in early January, when he walked with the assistance of a cane the previous weekend as a precaution and would not commit to being ready for the season opener. Saying at the time, “If my body doesn’t feel right, then I’m not going to go out there," he began a period of lingering pessimism that began to fade a bit this week when he did not land on the PUP list and was a visible part of the team.
“Every time he’s on the field, everybody knows where he’s at,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said Wednesday. “There’s an aura that he has on the field that is exhilarating. It makes me happy. It makes everybody happy just to see him out there.”
The smiles are everywhere over the situation. But with more than seven weeks to go before New York hosts Dallas on Sept. 13 to begin the season, he and team officials are still reluctant to say if Nabers will be ready to go by then.
“No target dates," Nabers said. "Just continuing to listen to the training staff, and they continue to ask me questions. And when I’m ready, I’m ready.”
Progressing to team practice sessions would seemingly be the next step of a process that included significant rehab and even a second cleanup surgery earlier this year. On the prospect of playing in a preseason game to test the knee, Nabers deferred to new coach John Harbaugh, who praised the wideout's efforts to even get to this point.
“I really am impressed with how hard he’s worked,” Harbaugh said. “I just think he’s worked really hard. He deserves to be out there doing what he (is doing). It’s really cool to see.”
Nabers catching passes from Dart in any setting is a positive, given their limited time together last season. Nabers was injured and sidelined for the rest of the season in the second quarter of Dart's first NFL start.
All the two have really been able to do since is talk and watch video together as a way of advancing their rapport before they can play in a real game together again.
“We’re just going to continue to get him in slowly,” Dart said. “He’s doing a great job with how he’s attacking his recovery. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him and his approach to the game.”
Nabers acknowledged it has not been easy mentally to be away from football, and he has leaned on Dart, as well as new teammate Odell Beckham Jr. and others, to get through those struggles.
“Overcoming an injury is not easy,” starting left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “If anything, (it is good) just for his mental (state) to be back out here with the guys and running around and catching the ball."
Nabers did take joy in surprising other players on Wednesday with just how smoothly he was running and cutting and catching the ball. But after going through a few weeks of that himself, he did not surprise himself.
“I felt like the training staff did a very good job on getting me ready before I even stepped foot out there,” Nabers said. "Those cuts I’ve been doing with the training staff, those routes I’ve been doing with the training staff, so it wasn’t anything (but) normal to me that I was able to go out there and do it full speed.”
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New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers practices during an NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Mandela Barnes dropped out of the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor on Thursday amid news that the state party had reviewed past allegations of inappropriate behavior, further shaking up the race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 election.
The former lieutenant governor made the announcement in a video posted on his Facebook page as democratic socialist Francesca Hong has garnered strong support from the liberal wing of the party.
Barnes’ decision to drop out came a day after the release of a Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin Democratic primary voters that found Hong leading Barnes and the other candidates by a significant margin, although about one-third of primary voters remained undecided.
“It's become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes said.
Barnes’ move came on the same day that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that it had asked him about allegations of inappropriate behavior lodged with the state Democratic Party, local party officials and others against him.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party received an anonymous letter in 2024 and again in 2025 making allegations against Barnes, a person with direct knowledge of the party’s actions told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the review.
The party hired a law firm in 2025 to look into claims that Barnes used his position in the party to seek out inappropriate relationships with young adult women, the person said. The review found nothing actionable because the allegations were anonymous and unspecific, the person with knowledge of the probe said.
Barnes' campaign issued a statement saying, “There are no allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing against Mandela.”
Barnes is the third Democrat to withdraw from the race. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run amid a campaign finance scandal two weeks ago and former state economic development director Missy Hughes dropped out in June.
After Rodriguez ended her campaign, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley rejoined the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers.
Crowley made a direct plea to Barnes' supporters to back him.
“There's a place for you in what we're building,” he posted on social media.
Evers told reporters Thursday that he was surprised by Barnes’ move.
“But he needs to do what he needs to do,” Evers said. “I don’t know why he’s getting out. I have to believe it’s something relatively important.”
Evers said he stuck by his endorsement of Crowley, who worked closely with Evers and Republican lawmakers on a deal to increase funding for local communities. Evers chose to endorse him over Barnes, who served as his lieutenant governor in his first term.
Evers said Crowley was the best candidate “even if Mandela was in.”
Hong did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.
Joel Brennan, a long-shot candidate in the race, said, “It’s unfortunate for voters that this primary has gotten more attention for chaos than the stakes of this election."
The shake-up comes after nearly 128,000 voters have already returned absentee ballots and on the third day of in-person early voting. On Wednesday, a judge rejected a lawsuit supported by the Democratic Party seeking to allow voters who have already returned their absentee ballots to cancel them and vote again.
The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only nominal opposition in the Republican primary. Tiffany, who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, said it's become clear the race will be a choice between a “socialist agenda” or “common sense.”
“This election is not about red versus blue,” he said. “It is about whether Wisconsin stays Wisconsin.”
Barnes ending his campaign comes after he benefited from other candidates dropping out in the Democratic primary race for Senate in 2022 to clear the field for him. He ended up losing by under 27,000 votes that year to Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong talks during a primary debate in Milwaukee, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mandela Barnes talks during a primary debate in Milwaukee, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong poses for a photo Friday, July 24, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
FILE - Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes speaks at a rally Oct. 29, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
