Angry Saquon set to return.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Saquon Barkley has been a lot of things to many since he first donned the Giants’ uniform and set out to be the best running back in the NFL.
Dynamic. Electric. Explosive. Offensive Rookie of the Year. Team leader. Record setter.
From the moment he suffered a high sprain of his right ankle a few weeks ago, Barkley has promised to return with a vengeance, and it appears – remarkably – that is going to happen when the Giants meet the Cardinals in Week 7 at MetLife Stadium.
This is set up to be the debut of a player we have yet to see: Angry Saquon.
And Giants tight end Evan Engram says to trust him on this one: Opponents are not going to like seeing Barkley when he’s angry.
“We’ve gotten in some arguments, some debates. I’ve seen him get worked up, but I think this will be a good worked up. The SEC and Big Ten conversation has gotten pretty heated a couple times,” Engram said with a smile early this week. “You go after Big Ten and Penn State, there are some buttons you can press . ... It’s good for us to have him mad at everybody else.”
When the Giants (2-4) lost to the Patriots last week, Barkley, Engram and Sterling Shepard were watching the game from North Jersey at Shepard’s home.
The trio of stars – the Giants’ three best offensive players – were together again, only this time on the practice field Oct. 14 when the team returned to begin preparing for the Cardinals. The expectation is that Barkley and Engram will be healthy enough to play against Arizona while the availability of Shepard is more complicated.
Shepard is in concussion protocol for the second time this season after he experienced symptoms following the Giants’ 28-10 loss to the Vikings on Oct. 6. With two concussions in six weeks, he’s believed to be facing an indefinite absence.
So it was a surprise to see Shepard on the practice field going through individual drills during which he was running routes, apparently at full speed.
“Anytime there’s an individual in the protocol or coming back from a concussion, the doctors will let us know when they’re allowed to be playing. So, that’s where we’re at,” head coach Pat Shurmur said Oct. 14.
Engram says he is “pretty optimistic” about his chances to play against the Cardinals. His injury is a low-grade MCL sprain, but not as serious and in the opposite knee of last season’s injury that kept him out multiple weeks.
As for Barkley, he vowed that he would be back as quickly as possible and “10 times better,” and he did so sitting in the locker room in Tampa, Florida, following the game in which he was injured. He has played just 23 snaps with rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
“I mean, he’s been special since Day 1, and I think coming back from this, he’s champing at the bit a little bit,” Engram said of Barkley. “When you miss time, you just miss (the game) so much, when you come back, it just adds that extra juice. So I know he’s gonna be the guy that he is, and he’s going to be better, but he’s gonna have a little edge to him just getting back out there. He’s gonna have some juice, and I’m excited to see it.”