Saquon Barkley nearing return to New York Giants after torn ACL

After suffering a torn ACL early in the 2021 season, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is almost back. He is expected to be brought along slowly, but Barkley’s nearing return is welcome news for the Giants.

The Giants will be cautious with Barkley

So far in training camp, Barkley has mostly worked off to the side. He has been able to run, cut and jump almost normally, according to NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt. Barkley is expected to be activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list later this week. Giants head coach Joe Judge says that Barkley has made great progress in return from his knee injury.

“We’re going to have conversations on a daily basis about his rehab and conversations on a weekly basis at times on where we think he is coming up,” Judge said. “In terms of the timetable, I say it all the time to you guys. I’m just being flat out honest, I’m not a doctor. I let the medical team and they tell me a guy is good to go and put him on the field, I know he’s good to go.

“In terms of a player like Saquon and a timetable coming back, he’s making daily progress. I know it sounds like a broken record, but that’s important for us coming off an injury like this. You want to make sure that it’s not a push forward and take a step back.”

Barkley’s return should help struggling Giants offense

The Giants struggled tremendously without Barkley last season. Quarterback Daniel Jones had only 11 touchdowns and the offense as a whole finished 31^st in scoring. Wayne Gallman, Alfred Morris and Devonta Freeman saw the bulk of the work at running back in Barkley’s absence. None of them averaged more than 4.6 yards per carry. Gallman was the most productive of the bunch, totaling 682 yards and six touchdowns.

As a rookie in 2018, Barkley ran for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added 721 yards and four touchdowns in the passing game. In 2019, Barkley only appeared in 13 games, but totaled 1,003 yards, six touchdowns and added 438 yards and two touchdowns receiving.

The Giants added wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Kararuis Toney in addition to tight end Kyle Rudolph in the offseason. The three will look to give Jones additional weapons in an offensive that needs major improvement.

Barkley’s ability to return the elite form that he has previously shown will be a key part of the success in New York. If he returns at 100% and can remain that way, the Giants could make a run in a weaker NFC East division.

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