During Monday’s practice, New York Giants  running back Saquon Barkley extended to make an impressive catch on a wheel route thrown by fellow rookie Kyle Lauletta. The deep toss caused Barkley to come up gimpy on his left leg, forcing him to to get it wrapped and iced after the play.
How can the New York Giants limit potential injuries with Saquon Barkley?
Injuries are unpredictable, but there are ways to limit them in the preseason, as Barkley will be an instrumental tool on the offense going forward. His loss would be devastating.
It’s essential to provide him with as much time on the field as possible, since he’s a rookie after all. He will undoubtedly experience some hiccups along the way, but putting him in preseason games will allow him to adapt to the speed of the NFL quickly. Of course, this raises the probability of an injury. This can attest to the limited action he saw in week one of the preseason against the Cleveland Browns.
All it took was one carry of 40 yards to convince head coach Pat Shurmur that Barkley didn’t need too much action in his first professional game. The question now, is: Do the Giants play him at all against the Detroit Lions?
Personally, I would give him one drive maximum, if anything at all. Ultimately, I would be satisfied with Barkley playing in the final preseason game to get his feet wet and then hit the ground running against the Jaguars on September 9.