New York Giants trio misses practice due to COVID protocol

New York Giants, Saquon Barkley

The New York Giants haven’t caught a break this season, and fortune isn’t going any easier on them right now. The latest problem for the team is COVID-19, which has already ruled running backs coach Burton Burns out for the next game. However, it doesn’t look like this is an isolated matter.

The Giants had three players listed as not practicing due to the league’s COVID protocol according to their latest injury report: Saquon Barkley, Matt Skura, and Xavier McKinney. This could potentially rule out all three players for Sunday, as the protocol requires two negative tests within a 24-hour span and no symptoms for a player to return.

Barkley is in the protocol after a positive test. However, there is some margin of error in these tests and there is a chance that the running back could return soon if the subsequent tests show that the original result was a false positive.

Still, there’s no guarantee the Giants would have Barkley active on Sunday even if this situation hadn’t happened. Barkley is still dealing with an existing ankle injury situation. He hasn’t played since the Dallas game in week 5, and the staff seem in no mood to rush him back.

The more important player listed here might be Xavier McKinney. He’s played in the vast majority of the team’s defensive snaps this year, and the safety position is thinner than before thanks to Jabrill Peppers’ season ending injury.

These three players were only one part of a larger group that didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday. Lorenzo Carter, Nate Ebner, Kenny Golladay, Dante Pettis, and Sterling Shepard also sat out.