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5 options for the NY Giants to replace the injured Saquon Barkley

By Charles Vitolo

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 20: Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants is helped off the field with an injury against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 20, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 20: Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants is helped off the field with an injury against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 20, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Former Chiefs runningback Spencer Ware (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Former Chiefs runningback Spencer Ware (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

4. Spencer Ware

Spencer Ware has never really been a lead back dating all the way back to his days in college at LSU, but for that the NY Giants need right now he could be the perfect solution.

Drafted by the Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Ware wound up finding success in the second stop of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs after inking a futures contract with Kansas City at the end of the 2014 season that he didn’t play at all in.

Ware has been a terrific change of pace ‘back with the Chiefs and looked like he would be a name to keep an eye on after averaging 5.6 yards-per-carry during the 2015 season in what was his first real taste of NFL action. He finished that season with 6 rushing TD’s and 402 yards despite starting just two games.

The former LSU Tiger’s best season came in 2016 when Kansas City’s longtime starter, Jamaal Charles, was coming off of a knee injury and Ware took advantage by racking up 1,368 total yards (921 rushing, 447 through the air) and 5 total TD’s in 14 starts.

The sky appeared to be the limit for the young tailback heading into 2017, although in what has become a common theme in Ware’s career, the ‘back suffered a serious knee injury in the team’s third preseason game that would force him out of the entire 2017 campaign.

Since then, Ware has struggled to find his way back into the lineup with Kansas City or any other team (he was briefly with the Colts in 2019) as knee and ankle injuries have slowed down a once promising career. The Chiefs did bring him back at the end of the 2019 season as they badly needed a healthy body at runningback but Ware once again went down with a shoulder injury.

Still just 29-years-old with just 357 career carries, Ware should be just about fully recovered from all of his nagging injuries and could be a real steal for the NY Giants.

At his best, Ware has proven he can by a dynamic runningback as he holds a career rushing average of 4.6 while also averaging a crazy-high 10.9 yards-per-reception.

At 5’10”, 225 pounds, Ware has the size needed to match up well with the smaller Dion Lewis and wouldn’t cost the Giants much in the way of salary cap space. While no one on the planet is exactly like Saquon Barkley, Ware’s skillset is very similar and the team wouldn’t have to change up its offense very much by inserting him into the lineup.

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