Saquon Barkley returned to NY Giants practice Monday, on what was another strong showing from quarterback Daniel Jones
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Saquon Barkley was the main attraction, as the NY Giants’ star running back returned to practice for the first time Monday since tearing his ACL in Week 2 last season.
Barkley participated in individual drills, on what was one of the lighter days of practice this camp, but getting him back on the field less than a year after his injury is a significant step for the NY Giants, the first of what he and the organization are many to come, in short order.
"“We’re not going to put him in 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 at this point right now,” NY Giants coach Joe Judge said prior to practice. “But, as we keep building him up, we’ll really kind of start to get his body into the volume of practice, the pace of practice of the players out there, more football drills. That’ll be something that benefits him going forward. “There’s only so much you can do at a certain point with the trainers and strength coaches on the field by yourself. It’s time to get him moving forward and as long as they say it’s safe for him to do, we’ll keep on pushing.”"
Early on, Barkley did a nice job during an individual drill of running down a pass from Daniel Jones on a wheel-route and bringing down the reception on the run.
Monday, Barkley wasn’t wearing a knee brace, and watching how the NY Giants approach using him in practice the rest of this week when the team presumably returns to full-pads as early as Tuesday, will be more telling about any return timetable.
However, Judge made it clear that Barkley will not be available for the NY Giants’ preseason opener against the Jets on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.
Here’s a look at key takeaways from Monday’s NY Giants training camp practice:
John Ross pulls up lame
Former first-round pick John Ross has had his NFL career derailed by injuries, and seemed to come up lame during Monday’s practice.
During a seven-on-seven period, Ross immediately grabbed at his upper-leg, following a rep, and proceeded to be stretched out and worked on by members of the training staff shortly after.
Ross didn’t return to practice, and watched as the rest of the team went through conditioning drills at the end of the session.
Given his high-end speed, and first-round pedigree, Ross’s injury will be worth monitoring in coming days, because he has the potential to be a frontrunner for the NY Giants’ No. 5 wide receiver coming out of camp and potentially contribute on offense and special teams, in that role.