NFL Week 17 Inactives: Malik Nabers cleared to play

Wide receiver Malik Nabers (toe) returned to practice Friday and was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (ankle) was also limited, but received no game status on the injury report. The two rookies have combined for 1,955 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns.

Despite missing two games with a concussion, Nabers enters the season’s final two weeks with 97 catches for 969 yards. He needs three receptions to join Steve Smith (107 receptions in 2009) and Odell Beckham, Jr. (101 in 2016) as the only players in Giants history to reach the century mark. Nabers is fifth in the NFL in receptions. He needs 69 yards for the 26^th 1,000-yard season in Giants history.

Nabers has already sailed past the previous Giants’ rookie record of 91 catches, which had been held jointly by Saquon Barkley and Beckham. Even if he plays the final two games, he is unlikely to exceed the latter’s team rookie yardage record of 1,305 yards.

But Nabers, who averaged 7.5 catches a game, needs nine receptions in the final two games to exceed the NFL rookie record of 105 set by the Rams’ Puka Nacua last season. But Nacua’s mark could fall before Nabers would reach it, because Las Vegas rookie tight end Brock Bowers has 101 receptions, which puts him in a three-way tie for second in the league.

Meanwhile, Tracy has 984 scrimmage yards (721 rushing and 263 receiving) and joins Nabers to form the first pair of Giants rookies to each have 900+ scrimmage yards. They can become just the third duo in NFL history to each have 1,000 yards from scrimmage.