Losing Saquon Barkley is one of the worst case scenarios for the New York Giants, but the team has been without the top running back since week three after Barkley sprained his ankle in the first half against Tampa. Since then, the team’s results have taken a dip with backup running back Wayne Gallman also going out of action not too long after Barkley himself was injured, and fans have been left to wonder when Barkley will come back.
Barkley’s recovery has been quicker than normal and the running back was close to making a return against either Minnesota or New England, but the team held Barkley back to avoid risking such an important player by pushing him back onto the field early during a season where it doesn’t seem like the team is doing much contending regardless of his presence.
However, just because the Giants kept Barkley out doesn’t mean that Barkley himself wants to stay out of action. In fact, all signs point to the opposite being true – rather than take this as a time to relax while the rest of the team continues to play, Barkley has shown a desire to make it back onto the field as soon as possible. That was further proven by one of Barkley’s main blockers, Will Hernandez.
“He’s kind of like a caged lion. When you cage them up and you don’t feed them, they get antsy, and as soon as you let them out of that cage they go crazy and they eat more than they would have had they not been caged in the first place. Saquon feels like he wants to be out there, he wants to play, but he can’t,” Hernandez said to Newsday. “But the minute he gets a chance to run free he’s going to take advantage of it and he’s going to make it worth watching for everybody.”
“I hope he comes back 10 times better. That would be cool to see, fun to see,” Hernandez added.
Barkley is currently a full participant in practice, which makes it look like Sunday’s clash with the Arizona Cardinals could be his return. With a 2-4 record, the Giants will need all the help they can get in clawing their way back to .500, and having a competent running game that relies on having their star player healthy would definitely help the team in that.
Still, there hasn’t been an official confirmation yet that Barkley will appear in Sunday’s game – fans will just have to wait and see what happens further in the week as practices continue and it becomes clear who will play and who won’t. Barkley, after all, may very well end up a game time decision.