Teams thrilled about return of their superstars
NEW YORK — When Saquon Barkley puts on his uniform, walks out the doors of the locker room and steps on the field Sunday — and all indications are he will despite his being listed as questionable against the Broncos — Giants fans won’t be the only ones cheering.
The Giants themselves will be. “Obviously it will be a happy feeling,” wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “It’s been a long road, and to see him back out there doing what he loves is ultimately what I would like to see.”
Added quarterback Daniel Jones: “He’s certainly a leader on this team and someone everyone looks to and listens to. He’ll definitely help us out.”
On the other side of MetLife Stadium, a similar scene will take place. However, it won’t be a running back returning to the game after missing most of last season with a torn ACL but a linebacker who missed all of the 2020 campaign with an ankle injury.
Von Miller will be making his comeback too.
Surely the Broncos would have a better chance of winning if Barkley were out. And the Giants would have a better shot if Miller doesn’t play. It would be far better for each team to not have to face the opposing superstar.
But that’s not what Sunday is about. That’s not what this season is going to be about.
Barkley and Miller will square off in this game — perhaps at times literally in head-to-head matchups — but around the league there are other superstars also returning from injuries that robbed the 2020 season of some of its glitziest names and most dynamic playmakers.
So while Joe Judge called Miller a “unicorn” edge rusher and someone who can “ruin your day in a heartbeat,” he acknowledged there is a bigger picture.
“To miss a guy like Von Miller for the season last year, that’s a shame to everyone who’s involved in football,” Joe Judge said this week. “Seeing this guy back in the game, that’s good for football.”
The dawn of most seasons offers predictions on who will win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards, and this one is no different. But 2021 offers another compelling race among household names: Comeback Player of the Year.
Barkley and Miller are certainly early contenders. So too are Christian McCaffrey and Nick Bosa. Dak Prescott already made his opening statement for the honor Thursday night.
Odell Beckham Jr., George Kittle and Joe Burrow are also returning from significant injuries. Heck, the Broncos have two players who could wind up winning the title: Miller and Pro Bowl WR Cortland Sutton. Carson Wentz, once an MVP-caliber quarterback, is coming back from his comeback this season.
Those on the list might not play in Week 1 — and if they do it might be in a limited capacity at first — but they are all expected to return to their roles as some of the top players in the sport.
Throw in the many who opted out of 2020 due to COVID-19 such as Dont’a Hightower and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — and in this game, right tackle Nate Solder of the Giants, who will face Miller in a showdown of 2011 firstround picks — and opening day isn’t just about the game of football returning, as it is each fall.
It’s about so many of football’s best players returning to the game itself.