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Saquon Barkley Questionable, Evan Engram out with Calf Injury for Giants vs. WFT

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 15, 2021

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs away from Denver Broncos' Von Miller (58) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Broncos won 27-13. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
AP Photo/Adam Hunger

The New York Giants will once again be without one of their top offensive weapons Thursday night against the Washington Football Team, while another is questionable.

According to Dan Salomone of the Giants' official website, the team announced Wednesday that tight end Evan Engram will not play against the WFT because of a calf injury, while running back Saquon Barkley is questionable with a knee injury.

Engram did not play in the Giants' Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos, and while Barkley did play against Denver, he was used sparingly.

The oft-injured Engram has missed time in four of his five NFL seasons, including five games in 2018 and eight in 2019.

While he started all 16 games for the Giants last season, he scored a career-low one touchdown to go along with 63 receptions for 654 yards. He is still trying to return to the career highs of 64 grabs, 722 yards and six touchdowns he achieved as a rookie in 2017.

With Engram out last week, Kaden Smith got the start at tight end and veteran Kyle Rudolph also saw plenty of action. Smith was held without a catch, while Rudolph made two catches for eight yards.

Rudolph will likely be quarterback Daniel Jones' top target at tight end in Thursday's game, as the former Minnesota Vikings star is a two-time Pro Bowler with 4,496 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns in his NFL career.

With just 9.9 yards per catch during his career, however, Rudolph does not bring the same type of explosiveness to the table that Engram does.

Barkley missed all but one game last season after suffering a torn ACL, and it was unclear if he would be ready for the start of the 2021 campaign.

While Barkley did start against Denver, he had only 10 carries for 26 yards and one reception for one yard. Barkley played 48 percent of the offensive snaps in the game, while backup Devontae Booker played 39 percent.

Booker could only muster seven yards on four carries and one reception for six yards, but he figures to be New York's featured back on Thursday if the Giants take a cautious approach with Barkley rather than having him play twice in five days.

When called upon last season as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, Booker was highly effective. Serving as Josh Jacobs' backup, Booker rushed for 423 yards and three touchdowns on 93 carries, while making 17 receptions for 84 yards.

If Barkley misses Thursday's game, Booker could be worth a flex play by fantasy managers, especially those who roster Barkley.