The season ended early for New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. While Barkley came into the year with big expectations, he was out only a couple games in thanks to an ACL tear. The injury would put him out for the entire season and Barkley is currently at the phase of rehabbing. If that rehab goes well, everyone is hoping Barkley can be a full speed player come the 2021 season.
Another player recovering from the same injury, however, is former Giant Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham’s time in Cleveland since being traded has been far from perfect. The latest in a line of problems is that injury, which cut his season down to 7 games and saw him match his career low in touchdowns.
It looks like the two players are set to link up as they both rehab from similar injury situations.
“Only thing I do know that I have planned for sure, I’m definitely going to link up with [Odell],” Barkley told ESPN in an interview. “Obviously Odell tore his knee a little too. I think we both need just being there. We’re really good friends. Competing with each other and pushing each other will also be good too. That’s the only thing I know for certain I will do. Everything else is up in the air.”
Many consider the Giants to have won the Odell Beckham trade. Not because Beckham doesn’t have raw talent, but because various circumstances like this have prevented him from playing to his fullest potential in Cleveland. And it seemingly didn’t take long for Beckham to get involved in organizational drama in Cleveland, either.
But the trade hasn’t stopped Barkley from working with Beckham.
“Every year we always link up with him at some point, somewhere. Definitely going to find a way to link up.”
He mentioned the possibility of getting other injured players involved, such as Bengals QB Joe Burrow.
Injuries have affected many players around the league, and Barkley is one of the ones who has been impacted the most over the past couple of seasons. It’s put a big dent on his overall numbers, but fans will still be holding out hope that in 2021 Barkley can return to his healthy standard. After all, when he first showed up, it looked like a fully healthy Barkley would completely change the game for the Giants.