Saquon Barkley returned to Giants practice on Thursday, doing individual drills as Big Blue prepares for their Monday night matchup with the Seahawks.
Barkley returning for Monday’s game would be a remarkable recovery from an ankle sprain, as he would only have wound up missing one game, and Evan says if the star running back is practicing in a limited capacity, he needs to suit up for Monday’s critical matchup.
“Who knows if he’s gonna play…but if this game is as important as we all claim it is, and he can even practice in a limited way, is it almost a game he has to play, even if he is only 70 percent?” Evan said. “This feels like as an important of a Week 4 game as you could possibly have, and he’s gotta play.”
Tiki agrees that Monday feels like a must win game, as the Giants can’t afford to fall to 1-3 in a highly competitive NFC East, and because of that, he believes Barkley will be on the field.
“To me, it feels like yes. This feels like a game where Saquon miraculously comes back from a high ankle sprain or a regular ankle sprain,” Tiki said. “If he’s walking around, it’s not a bad high ankle sprain.
“They miss the explosiveness that he brings. If you have an ankle sprain, injury, shoulder, and you’re questionable, and you end up playing, the thing you really have to deal with is the pain…an interesting thing happens though in a football game. You kind of start forgetting about the pain. It just goes away.
“If you are good enough to be walking around and partially going through practice, as Saquon is, I think he’s planning on playing this week, and more importantly, the Giants need him to.”