11 hours ago
Giants' Malik Nabers to Commanders' Jayden Daniels: 'I'm proud of you'
Giants' Malik Nabers to Commanders' Jayden Daniels: 'I'm proud of you'
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels have made no secret that they are best friends.
There was even some chatter about them being too friendly with each other on the sidelines before and after both meetings between the teams in 2024. But neither of them is worried about what anyone else thinks, which Nabers addressed on the NFL Digest Podcast.
"I'm not changing who I am just because I play on this team. It's never going to happen, like, I'm too real for that," Nabers said. "He's the ultimate baller; the ultimate teammate. He talks to us like he tries to motivate us, he always makes sure that we on the right track. Like, he's the ultimate leader that we follow."
Daniels and Nabers spent their final two seasons at LSU together, helping the team achieve its first bowl game win in 2022 since winning the National Championship in 2019. The film from their years together highlights both of their abilities and watching them on the field, it's easy to see the kind of relationship the two players have.
"It's so bad because we in the same conference," Nabers said. "When you play, as I can't really tell him, 'I ain't talking to you.' But like, doing what he did, it's like surreal. Just cause I know him and I know his work ethic and I know what he put into it, and I know just how much of a teammate he is, or how much he want to see everybody else win, bruh, I'm proud of you.
"Like, I'm ultimately proud of you. I couldn't tell him as a brother that I'm ultimately proud of him. And I don't want people to try to like, just because we in the same conference and we got to go against each other, that's not going ever to change. Like, we going to compete, yeah, but that's still my brother for life."
So, while Nabers and Daniels no longer share the same uniform and, in fact, play on opposite ends of a rivalry, the bond they created at LSU isn't going anywhere. They are steady friends, even joking last year about which one of them would be the Rookie of the Year.
Obviously, Daniels won the honor, but Nabers was discussed heavily as the votes were tallied.
Nabers and Daniels will continue to meet twice a season, on opposite ends of a rivalry, for at least three more years.
The Giants have no interest in getting rid of Nabers, and the same can be said for the Commanders and Daniels. Both are franchise players, and it wouldn't be surprising if we saw them continue this battle for many, many years to come.
