New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is still not ruling star running back Saquon Barkley out for this Sunday against Minnesota.
Saquon Barkley out for four-to-eight weeks? That workhorse and freak of nature out for that long with a high ankle sprain? Yes, that’s what was initially believed, and with reason. A high ankle sprain takes a little bit longer than other setbacks to recover. That pertains to a normal human being. However, the New York Giants star running back is not particularly normal.
Reports came out on Wednesday that Barkley was eyeing a Week 6 return. Now, it seems he could possibly return this Sunday. On Thursday, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur still wouldn’t rule Barkley out for their upcoming matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
Shurmur said they're going to bring Saquon back "as quickly and as smartly as possible." He reiterates that a return on Sunday is possible.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) October 3, 2019
Just because a Week 5 return is possible, doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to happen. Barkley was running, making cuts, and jumping at practice on Wednesday. But that doesn’t lead to the idea that he’s fully ready to go at all. The Giants will be a lot better off not rushing Barkley back onto the playing field.
A major injury to Barkley due to rushing him back is the last thing this team needs at the moment, especially when they just improved to .500 on the year at 2-2.
If Barkley is not ready to go on Sunday, it still could be tough to be ready to go Week 6. That game is on Thursday night, therefore giving Barkley even less of a timeframe to meet that goal.
Barkley is averaging 6.4 yards-per-carry with 237 yards and one touchdown on the season thus far.
