New York Giants' Saquon Barkley waits to speak to reporters at the NFL football teams training ... [+]
If Giants running back Saquon Barkley had an extra pep in his step Monday during practice, well, who could blame him?
Barkley, who began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list due to his on-going rehab from a torn ACL, passed his physical and was cleared to return to practice.
"It felt good just to be back out there playing football," said Barkley after the Giants’ 75-minute practice.
"The most fun part I would say is being back out there with your teammates. Obviously, the next step in my rehab process and just thankful to be able to go back out there and play football with my teammates and be able to get to practice. It’s what I love."
Barkley, who for months had tried to balance being patient and honest with wanting to be out there with his teammates, finally convinced the Giants to let him do so when he realized his rehab drills were running parallel to what the team was doing on the field.
"I think I got to a point in rehab where going over there against garbage cans and cutting on cones and stuff—that was all good and stuff," Barkley said. "But now I get to a point where I start reacting off of other athletes and (the medical staff) agreed with me."
Although Barkley is back on the field for the Giants, the running back still couldn’t commit to whether he’d be ready for Week 1 of the 2021 season.
“"I’m going to give y’all the same answer I’ve been giving you: To be honest, I don’t know,” Barkley said.
“"Obviously, you guys know how I am as a competitor. I’m pretty sure you guys know what my thought process is, but at the same time, I’m very fortunate to play for an unbelievable coach and an unbelievable organization that’s actually thinking about me and thinking about the rest of my career and the longevity of my career, and I don’t feel forced.”
Interestingly, Giants head coach Joe Judge, who has remained consistent in his pledge not to rush Barkley into anything before he’s ready, revealed that if the conditions are right, he would not rule out getting the 24-year-old some preseason reps.
“The thing is, before you get hit in the first game at full speed when the speed does elevate, we want to go out there and just get you used to the tempo of the game, the pace of the game. Get you a catch, get you hit, get the feel of being tackled,” said Judge, who mentioned a prior experience he once had in New England where he had three receivers who hadn’t done much in camp and had them suit up for a preseason game.
“Am I looking to put Saquon into something that’s not going to be in his best interest? Absolutely not, but at some point, the doctors say, ‘He’s ready to play,’ and if we have the opportunity to get him in at a certain point, we will. But I’m not going to press that timetable.”
Nor should he. While Judge’s point is valid, it would behoove him to find other ways of simulating the football activity that Barkley has yet to experience, but in a controlled environment to not expose a man considered a significant part of the offense to harm before necessary.
