Barkley and Thomas should give Big Blue offense a jolt vs. Bucs
Saquon Barkley, who spoke to the media on Friday for the first time in five weeks, said his expectation for himself when he returns is to “be a leader.”
He should get his chance to lead on Monday Night Football when the Giants (3-6) come out of their bye against the cranky Bucs (6-3).
Tampa has lost two straight. Barkley essentially has missed the last five games due to a bad left ankle injury early in the Giants’ Week 5 blowout loss at Dallas.
Joe Judge’s offense should get both Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas (ankle/foot) back, which hopefully gives Jason Garrett’s offense a shot in the arm.
“I still believe I’m capable of the things that I’ve shown on the field before,” said Barkley, 24, who is officially listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Barkley’s contributions could be extra important because bell cow Devonate Booker (hip) is also questionable with a hip injury.
Garrett has leaned on Booker for 95 touches, 440 yards and three TDs since Barkley got hurt. And the veteran back’s patience and contributions have helped Judge grind out two wins in the team’s last three games.
If Booker can’t go, that would leave the Giants with Barkley, Eli Penny and rookie Gary Brightwell to pick up the slack. Penny has gained steam as a ball carrier, but Brightwell has only one carry and one catch in 10 offensive snaps this season.
The rookie also missed the Giants’ win over the Raiders before the bye after testing positive for COVID-19.
It isn’t clear exactly what Barkley will be able to do if he plays, either. He was limited all week in practice, didn’t sound confident on Friday, and had his left ankle taped heavily.
He wouldn’t even divulge the exact nature of his left ankle injury, even though NFL Network had reported that Barkley, “a fast healer,” would “work to miss only one week” with a “low ankle sprain” after the Dallas injury.
“[It’s] something with my ankle,” Barkley said Friday. “I really don’t want to get too much into [specifics]. Whatever was reported, it is what it is. I’m just coming out every single day trying to get better and trying to get back.”
Barkley never was placed on injured reserve, even though he missed more than the three games that an IR stint would erase.
He said he did not have a setback with his ankle or his surgically repaired right knee. So clearly his left ankle injury was much worse than anyone officially has let on.
Barkley acknowledged that no one believed originally that it was as bad as it turned out. It’s not clear if it’s still a sprain, but a worst-case sprain, like a Grade 3.
“At first no one thought that, but when the MRIs came back, obviously we knew it was going to be a little more difficult than we thought,” he said. “I’ve just been keeping my head down and coming to work every single day.”
He admitted that his agent “got a hold of the MRIs” and got a second opinion on the injury back in October, though he didn’t go to Los Angeles physically to get it. He reiterated “I trust everyone here” on the Giants’ medical staff, too.
Why Barkley did not speak to the media between Oct. 14 and Friday is unknown.
He said he has a “C” on his chest as a captain for a reason, but he has been an afterthought rather than the face of the franchise recently. And Booker’s contributions have strengthened the case that Barkley is replaceable.
Barkley admitted he doesn’t know if this is an injury he’s going to have to manage the rest of the season. He has missed 21 games, or 36.8% of a possible 57 games in his four years to date.
Obviously, Barkley was an explosive game changer in the Giants’ best win of this season, Week 4 at New Orleans, scoring two TDs including the game-winner. And that’s also the last time Thomas played a full game healthy at left tackle, so his presence on the blind side should help.
Thomas still has to be activated off injured reserve onto the active roster, which is why he isn’t listed on the injury report.
But time is running out — or may have run out already — for Barkley to prove he deserves the major contract extension he seeks.
“I’m a big believer in no matter what, the things that you want to accomplish, you’ve got to visualize it, you’ve got to work for it,” Barkley said. “All the things I want to obtain are still out there for me to obtain. That’s how I’ve got to live by it.”
“You’ve got to ignore the noise,” he added, “put your head down, and keep working. [You’ve got to] have faith and belief that all the hard work you put in is going to come to light.”
GIANTS OUT: FS Logan Ryan (COVID-19), WR Sterling Shepard (quad), special teamer Nate Ebner (knee), edge Lorenzo Carter (illness/ankle).
QUESTIONABLE: RB Saquon Barkley (left ankle), RB Devontae Booker (hip), FB Cullen Gillaspia (calf), TE Kaden Smith (knee).
If Ryan unexpectedly tests out of the COVID protocol as late as Monday morning, the Giants could activate him last-minute for the game. But they don’t expect that to happen. Ryan staying on the COVID list Saturday indicated his PCR test also came back positive late Friday night, confirming two rapid positives that morning.
BUCCANEERS OUT: WR Antonio Brown (ankle).
DOUBTFUL: NT Vita Vea (knee). QUESTIONABLE: TE Rob Gronkowski (back), CB Dee Delaney (ankle/concussion), DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (ankle).
Gronkowski and defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting (elbow) are both game-time decisions but are trending towards playing, per Bucs coach Bruce Arians.