Both the Giants and Saquon Barkley himself have been mum about any possible return date for the running back to be back in game action…but head coach Joe Judge said Monday that the former No. 2 overall pick is doing activity similar to his peers while on the sidelines, and doing well.
“He’s making a lot of strides for us and I don’t want to go ahead and make any predictions or anything on Saquon, but I will say that this guy’s showing progress, tangible progress every day with our medical staff, with our strength staff," Judge said. "He comes out here and works. Right now, we’ve really mirrored his rehab to what our players are doing on the field practice-wise to make sure that he’s building up that same volume, that same intensity.”
It may be “apples to apples” in a way, as Judge said – “it gives us a better picture in terms of where he is physically,” he said – but the head coach still isn’t ready to give any timelines on a return to practice.
“I couldn’t give you an answer on that, and that’s not being coy right there,” Judge said. “With this injury right here, we’re going to make sure we do the right thing by Saquon and what’s better for the team and we’ve got to take a long-term vision of this right here. The doctors know a lot more about the knee, about where he is medically. I know where his spirit is. I know where his work ethic is. I know he wants to be out there with the team.”
The Giants signed Devontae Booker in the off-season and re-upped Alfred Morris on Monday, so they do have some depth at the RB position if Barkley’s return is delayed – and Judge is fine with that, if it means a good long-term prognosis for the stud back they lost in Week 2 of 2020.
"As I’ve said to him time and time again, when you’re ready, we’ll let you go. I know he wants to be out there, but we’ve got to make sure we help our players make the right decision,” Judge said. “The goal is to get him out there and keep him out there. We know he can make a great impact for this team. We know what kind of player he can be, so we want to make sure we put him in the opportunity to go ahead and play full-speed, aggressive and confident when he gets out there."
The Giants’ three preseason games are set for August 14 vs. the Jets, August 22 against the Browns, and August 29 against New England, and they open the regular season at MetLife Stadium on September 12 against Denver.
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