Eli Manning and Saquon Barkley were two of the players who shined at New York Giants practice on Sunday.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—The New York Giants returned to the practice field on Sunday, looking to ride the momentum of the positives from their 31-22 victory over the Jets in the preseason opener on Thursday night.
Unfortunately for the Giants, one of their players, rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker, wasn’t able to make it past the individual warmups. He felt something in his knee and left for the day.
Following practice, head coach Pat Shurmur spoke about Baker’s condition.
“Yeah, just in his individual warmup type stuff, something with his knee. We’re just checking it out (with) an MRI. I have no information on that right now. (It happened) just kind of in the warmup drills. He just felt something so he’s getting that checked out.”
As far as the players who were able to practice on Sunday, Eli Manning was red hot, connecting on 12 out of 15 passes during 11 on 11 drills. His best pass of the practice was a deep pass to Saquon Barkley who got behind safety Michael Thomas for the touchdown.
Saquon is a Madden cheat code ? pic.twitter.com/4CiWlhu14a
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 11, 2019
Barkley looks even quicker and more explosive than he did a year ago, as nobody has been able to cover him in practice.
Daniel Jones had his bright moments as well on Sunday, but wasn’t as efficient as Manning. He completed six out of 11 passes on 11 on 11 drills and also handed the ball off to running backs on a few read-option plays.
Other news and notes
With Baker unable to practice, rookie Corey Ballentine stepped in and took reps with the first-team defense at right corner and nickel corner. The Giants are hopeful that Baker’s injury is not serious, but if he’s to miss some time, it looks like Ballentine will be his replacement.
Corey Ballentine talking about taking reps with the first team defense today. @EliteSportsNY #NYG #GiantsPride #GiantsCamp pic.twitter.com/CxwFoWVd5Q
— Jason Leach (@JasonKLeach) August 11, 2019
Another rookie who saw time with the first-team defense is inside linebacker Ryan Connelly. Alec Ogletree was given the day off due to maintenance, but it’s clear the Giants like what they see out of Connelly, and he ould see significant playing time as a rookie.
Cody Latimer continues to have a stellar training camp as he once again shined in practice making several big plays including catching a back-shoulder fade from Manning for the touchdown in the left corner of the end zone.
Cody Latimer bringing the heat on this beauty of a pass from Eli Manning ??
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 11, 2019
Jabrill Peppers also had a solid practice making plays such as defending a pass intended for Evan Engram and returned kickoffs.
Peppers defending against Engram on 7 on 7 drills. @EliteSportsNY #NYG #GiantsCamp #GiantsPride. pic.twitter.com/HEXDVDyD45
— Jason Leach (@JasonKLeach) August 11, 2019
Backup punter Ryan Anderson had another solid day punting. Anderson has been consistent all summer with his hang time, and considering he averaged 44.7 yards per punt against the Jets compared to projected starter Riley Dixon, who averaged 38.5, we might be witnessing a tight competition.
The Giants will return to the practice field on Monday at 10:15 a.m. ET.
