Giants RB Barkley ‘not 100%,’ limited in padded practice
Jabrill Peppers got the first practice hit on Saquon Barkley last week, and the safety might have said too much on Wednesday when asked how it went.
“Pretty well, pretty well,” Peppers said. “You know, he’s not 100%, so I don’t really take too much in it. We’ll see how he’s feeling down later in the year.”
Peppers isn’t one of the Giants’ team doctors, but his assessment echoed Barkley’s status on the first official injury report Wednesday: limited.
The starting running back is coming off a serious right knee injury and surgery. So Joe Judge can only put him on the field Sunday against the Denver Broncos if the medical staff says his running back can handle it.
Barkley has now had only two contact practices: last Thursday and now Wednesday, in limited fashion.
“He’s progressed nicely. He’s gotten better for us,” Judge said. “We want to make sure we make the best decisions for him longterm. I can’t stress that enough.”
Meanwhile, tight end Evan Engram (left calf ) was the only active roster player who didn’t practice Wednesday. But a ton of guys were limited: Barkley (right knee), WRS Kenny Golladay (left hamstring pull) and Kadarius Toney (hamstring), OT Andrew Thomas (left ankle), TES Kyle Rudolph (foot) and Kaden Smith (knee), CBS Adoree’ Jackson (left ankle sprain) and Josh Jackson (calf ), DT Danny Shelton (neck) and LB Justin Hilliard (foot).
— New York Daily News
Patriots: Familiar names selected captains
The Patriots named their captains for the 2021 season. Center David Andrews, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Devin Mccourty, special teamer Matthew Slater, and running back James White will represent the team this year. All have previously served as captains for at least three seasons. Mccourty and Slater have now been captains for 11 straight years.
In other news, former Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has a forthcoming announcement, teasing the news Wednesday via his Instagram account.
“On this week’s funky Friday, I have a lot of things to get off my chest,” Newton said in a short video. “This is not a retirement speech. I have a lot of football still in me.”
Newton, 32, was released by the Patriots as part of last week’s roster cuts, with the team electing to move forward with rookie Mac Jones. He remains unsigned. — Boston Globe
Jets: Wilson, Fatukasi named captains
Head coach Robert Saleh’s first Jets team will have five captains. Veteran wide receiver Corey Davis and rookie quarterback Zach Wilson are the offensive captains. Linebacker C.J. Mosley and lineman Folorunso Fatukasi, the former Uconn star, are captains on defense and cornerback Justin Hardee has been named special teams captain.