NY Giants’ Saquon Barkley featured in Madden trailer in worst way possible

Saquon Barkley appeared in the Madden 22 trailer, but not in a way the NY Giants’ running back would have liked 

The trailer for Madden 22 looked realistic in every way possible … except during the sequence where NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley gets stripped by Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith and CB Trevon Diggs before No. 27 runs the fumbled recovery back for a touchdown.

Now, granted, Barkley’s one career fumble did come at the hands of Smith and former Cowboy Xavier Woods back in 2019. So it wasn’t the absolutely most preposterous scenario to occur, even in simulation form.

That said, seeing the Madden franchise wake up and choose violence against NY Giants fans this morning with a negative virtual moment for their returning backfield superstar was a Thursday beatdown nobody saw coming.

The Checkdown shared the trailer on their verified Twitter account:

Now look, we’re not asking for a game-breaking run until Barkley gets back on the field and punishes defenders trying to keep him down. But to feature a fumble from No. 26–which is something he has done only once in his 31-game NFL career– feels like rubbing salt in the wounds of NY Giants fans after not even getting to see Barkley take more than 19 snaps in 2020.

Barkley aims to return in 2021 from a season-ending ACL injury that he suffered against the Chicago Bears in Week 2 of the snakebitten 2020 season. After missing time in 2019 with a high ankle sprain, there are a lot of questions Barkley needs to answer about his long-term durability as the RB1 in the Big Apple.

The 2021 season will provide a ton of answers about whether or not he is worthy of another contract. Barkley and the Giants front office are likely far apart on expectations for his next salary, making a bounce-back year critical for the Penn State product’s future with Big Blue.

Let’s hope that this image is one that stays in the virtual realm and never manifests at Metlife Stadium or AT&T Stadium this year.