Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr. linking up to rehab from ACL tears

A current and former New York Giant are linking up to rehab from their respective ACL tears this coming offseason.

Past teammates. Current friends. Forever brothers.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and former Big Blue (and current Browns) wideout Odell Beckham Jr. are linking up to rehab from their ACL tears, both of which occurred this past season. Barkley played in just two games in 2020 while Beckham took part in seven.

“Only thing I do know that I have planned for sure, I’m definitely going to link up with [OBJ],” Barkley recently told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “Obviously, Odell tore his knee a little too. I think we both need just being there. We’re really good friends. Competing with each other and pushing each other will also be good too. That’s the only thing I know for certain I will do. Everything else is up in the air.”

“Every year, we always link up with him at some point, somewhere. Definitely going to find a way to link up,” he added. “Obviously, I would love to, any of those guys that are going through this injury, whether it’s Joe [Burrow], [Devin] Bush, Bud [Dupree], there are a couple guys, any guy. I think it would be really dope if we could all link up.”

Barkley tore his ACL during the team’s Week 2 loss to the Bears. Wayne Gallman thus stepped up for the Giants and put together a productive campaign in his absence.

Saquon will be entering his fourth NFL season in 2021 and his long-term future with New York is unclear. The Giants could exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie deal this offseason or ink him to a lucrative contract.

At his end-of-year press conference, co-owner John Mara noted he expects Barkley to remain a Giant “for a very long time.”

Beckham’s near future, on the other hand, is unknown. There’s a chance the Browns trade him prior to the 2021 campaign’s commencement, meaning he potentially played his final game with Cleveland this past season.

Given his inconsistent production and injury history, the Browns may want to rid themselves of his expensive contract (cap hits of $15.75 million, $15 million, and $15 million in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively).