Barring setbacks, Saquon Barkley should play Thursday against Washington

Saquon Barkley, who’s coming off a torn ACL, isn’t expected to sit during the Giants’ Week 2 matchup with Washington.

We knew Saquon Barkley would likely be on a snap count Sunday against the Broncos.

However, we didn’t know what his status would be for the Giants‘ Week 2 matchup with the Washington Football Team. The fourth-year running back is coming off a September 2020 ACL tear and the brief turnaround between Week 1 and 2 (the latter game is this Thursday) could’ve forced the Giants to rest him.

That shouldn’t be the case though — Saquon should be ready to hit the game field this week.

“I would say unless the medical team tells us something else, our intentions will be to keep on progressing this guy throughout the season,” head coach Joe Judge told the media Monday. “Unless there’s some kind of setback…he came out Sunday night, from all accounts, in a good position. So our plan at this point will be to go ahead and include him in the game plan as we work for the next day and a half.

In his first game back from the major knee injury, during what was a 27-13 loss to Denver, Barkley carried the ball only 10 times for 26 yards. He was additionally targeted just three times through the air (he recorded one catch for one yard on the day).

It remains to be seen whether the Giants will ramp up his in-game workload this coming Thursday given the quick period between the first two games.

Regardless of the eventual number of carries Barkley earns, Saquon and the Giants have a daunting task facing a Washington front seven that includes Montez Sweat and Chase Young.