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Giants Not Planning to Limit Saquon Barkley's Workload

Two years removed from a torn ACL, Saquon Barkley looks like the player he was as a rookie.

Short of taking out a billboard in New York City's Times Square, Giants running back Saquon Barkley can’t profess his return to health any louder.

Okay, maybe he can, and he did, as was the case last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, in which he racked up 164 yards on 18 carries for an eye-popping 9.1 yards per carry average.

And for those naysayers who want to point out that Barkley had a 68-yard run tucked among his third highest career rushing yardage, take that carry and yardage away, and Barkley still managed to rush for an average of 5.64 yards per carry, which is nothing to sneeze at either.

That yardage and his 21.11 miles per hour speed (per NFL NextGen Stats) reached on that 68-yard run should, without a doubt, put to rest any concerns about whether the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week can come close to being the player he was as a rookie.

“It felt good,” Barkley said of that run. “The only thing I think about that play is I need to find a way to score.”

Barkley, who has waited two long years to get to this level—a torn ACL in 2020 brought his developing NFL career to a screeching halt. Then last year, between a fluke ankle sprain and his first season back from the ACL, Barkley lacked the explosiveness and pop he showed Sunday against the Titans.

Now that he’s put his money where his mouth is after an off-season in which he consistently spoke about how he was able to get back to training the way he needed to and how he felt that with this new Giants offensive system, he could have a big year, all eyes will be on the fifth-year running back Sunday when the Giants host the Carolina Panthers in their home opener to see what he does for an encore.

Oh, and if anyone is worried that head coach Brian Daboll might dial back Barkley’s workload like the Panthers are doing with Christian McCaffery, their star running back who has missed 22 games over the last two seasons, don’t be.

“He’s been healthy, he’s been fully cleared, and he’s been out here,” Daboll said of Barkley’s potentially unlimited availability. “Obviously, we took some stuff off of him in the preseason with the hits that he’ll probably accrue here (in the regular season). I think we’ll constantly evaluate that with the medical staff and the strength staff if we need to do something different. But at this point, Week 2, he’s fresh, he’s healthy.”

Barkley, who is having fun with his teammates, said he’s thankful to be out there playing the game he loves.

“This league is tough, not just on running backs, but any position in the NFL,” he said. “You are going against grown men who have to feed their family coming at you at 20 miles per hour and hitting you. It’s a crazy game. I’ve been out so many games these past two games that every day I walk into the building, I’m just thankful.”

Last week when Barley needed a breather, backup Matt Breida came in to carry the load while Barkley rested. But don’t count on seeing Barkley standing on the sideline a whole lot this year, especially if he remains healthy.

“I’ve just been trying the best I can do to take care of my body,” Barkley said. “I put a lot of money into my body. Hopefully, it pays off.”

So far, so good. And as far as the Giants making sure that things stay on track, Daboll said there is no plan to limit or manage any of Barkley’s reps in practice or games.

“I don’t go into the game saying, ‘Hey, let’s get him 50 plays’ or ‘Let’s get him 20 touches,’” Daboll said. “I think that’s an adjustment part of the game. Obviously (Barkley) is a very good player. You want him to touch the ball. But it’s about how he’s feeling, how you’re communicating on the sideline. Does he say, ‘Hey, I need a series here,’ or ‘I need two’? We just talk about it that way. It’s not, ‘We’re just going to give him this.’”

Whatever he gets as far as reps, Barkley is appreciative of and focused on making every single one count.

“I’ve just got to continue to trust the process, fall in love with the process, and continue to trust the linemen and the play calling and take it week-by-week and day-by-day,” he said.

If he does all that, there are bound to be good things in store for the Giants’ offense. 


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