Giant bummer
BARKLEY MAY BE OUT FOR SEASON
The Giants fear Saquon Barkley tore the ACL in his right knee in Sunday’s 17-13 road loss to the Chicago Bears. Head coach Joe Judge helped a trainer carry his grimacing running back across Soldier
Field to the bench in the second quarter. A league source confirmed it was “certainly within the realm” of possibility that Barkley had torn his ACL, as
ESPN reported, which would end his season.
“Of course your heart stopped for a minute,” corner James Bradberry said.
“Oh s—-,” was corner Ryan Lewis’ reaction on the sideline as Barkley was hauled off.
“He’s a big dude and I wanted to make sure we could get him over there with the least amount of stress on his leg as possible and take the weight off it,” Judge said. “You don’t wanna carry any player off the field.”
Barkley grabbed in agony at his right knee after a hard tackle by Bears safety Eddie Jackson along the far sideline on the first play of the second quarter. After being helped to the sideline, Barkley was carted into the locker room for X-rays and quickly ruled out for the rest of the game, with an MRI planned for today.
Judge and the Giants played coy on Barkley’s status in their postgame interviews, but there was no mystery how great a loss they’d suffered.
“I just told him to keep his head up and stay positive,” said Dion Lewis, Barkley’s backup. “I definitely feel for him. Saquon is one of the best running backs in this league, so nobody’s gonna be able to do what he’s done. He’s Saquon Barkley, so you lose a guy like that, it’s a huge loss. Everybody’s got to step up. It’s gonna take all of us.”
Judge vowed: “Regardless of what the doctors say, I wouldn’t fall asleep on 26. It’s gonna be a hell of a story either way.”
Barkley, 23, was due to cash in on a major payday this coming offseason if he could run wild as the focal point of Jason Garrett’s offense, which is built around the third-year back.
Dave Gettleman’s No. 2 overall pick from the 2018 NFL draft is one of the most dynamic skill players in the league, but this is now the second straight season he has suffered a major injury to his right leg.
Barkley went down with a high right ankle sprain in Week 3 of last season that sidelined him for three games and hobbled him at least through the club’s Week 11 bye. Now his third NFL season appears that it’s over before it ever started.
Before Sunday’s game, all the focus had been on how Barkley would respond to Tiki Barber’s harsh criticism coming off his 15 carries for six yards and some poor pass blocking in a 26-16 season-opening loss to the Steelers.
The former Giant back had said on CBS Sports’ ‘ Tiki and Tierney’ that Barkley “might not be an every down back” because “he cannot pass protect,” calling him “a big back who wants to play small.”
But Barkley didn’t even get a full half of football to answer Barber’s challenge.
Barkley had appeared to injure his left arm or wrist on the second-to-last play of the first quarter after bracing for a fall and taking a hit from Bears corner Kyle Fuller. Lewis spelled him for one play.
Then on the first play of the second quarter, Barkley took a handoff from Daniel Jones out of shotgun, broke a few tackles, and danced outside, where he was met by Jackson.
Barkley fought to stay upright, but Jackson had leverage. And Barkley landed hard on his right leg as he strafed to the right and Jackson slammed him to the turf along the sideline.
Barkley immediately grabbed at his riight knee, pounded the ground with his right fist annd took his helmet off, writhing in severe pain.
“Tough to see anyone go down, especially a guy that works as hard as Saquon does,” Jones said.
Before the half was over, Giants receiver Sterling Shepard also hurt a toe on his left foot while being tackled. Shepard played the first play of the second half and then went straight to the locker room and did not return. Judge had no update on his status.
Unfortunately, on-field injuries were rampant league-wide in Week 2 of the NFL season.
Coaches feared as much because players are not the same physical shape after in-person offseason workouts were canceled in the spring, training camp was shortened, and the preseason schedule was eliminated.
“My prayers are up for all of my brothers that went down today,” Browns star receiver and former Giant Odell Beckham Jr. tweeted, watching the games after playing on Thursday night. “May god place his healing hand of grade upon yall! Hate to see it!”
Coincidentally, the team that was hit the worst by injuries was the Giants’ Week 3 opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.
Stud defensive end Nick Bosa tore an ACL, D-lineman Solomon Thomas also sustained a bad knee injury. Quarter Jimmy Garoppollo has a high ankle sprain, meaning backup Nick Mullens will start against the Giants next Sunday. And San Fran top back Raheem Mostert sprained his MCL.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan even complained about the new MetLife Stadium turf as a factor in catching players’ cleats and leading to injuries. He called the field “sticky.”
“Unfortunately this is the place we got to go back to next week,” Shanahan said.