Giants’ Saquon Barkley frustrated by low-ankle sprain

Saquon Barkley exited last Sunday’s matchup against the Cowboys due to an ankle injury that will temporarily sideline him.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley is no stranger to injuries, and he suffered another one this past Sunday.

In the midst of his team’s Week 5 loss to Dallas, Barkley sustained an ankle injury that knocked him out of the game early. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport subsequently reported it was a low-ankle sprain for Barkley.

The injury shouldn’t carry a long-term recovery process, but Saquon is expected to sit out this Sunday’s game against the Rams. And as you can guess, the fourth-year back isn’t exactly thrilled about the health-related setback.

"I'll be honest, it's frustrating.”

— Saquon Barkley on having to deal with another injury

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— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) October 14, 2021

“I’ll be honest, it’s frustrating,” he said. “Doesn’t make sense why this is happening but, obviously, when you get hurt [with an ankle sprain], you have those one or two days to reflect and feel bad for yourself and have that “why me?” mentality, but you can’t keep that mindset. Having that mindset, you’re not going to get anywhere with it. You got to live on the brighter side. Everything happens for a reason — this could slow me down to help me out in other ways and get myself ready and whenever I can get back on the field, just get back to playing the sport that I love and get back to contributing and helping the team.”

Barkley just returned from a 2020 ACL tear that caused him to miss 14 games last year. In 2019, he sat out a trio of matchups due to a high-ankle sprain.

This most recent injury is further proof that it may not be worth it to eventually extend Barkley, who’s under contract through 2022 after the Giants picked up his fifth-year option in the offseason.

The injury could also diminish his trade value should the Giants want to deal him prior to the Nov. 2 deadline. If the Giants are 1-6 around that date, there’s a chance they may want to give up some of their current assets in order to enhance their treasure trove of draft picks.

In Barkley’s expected absence against the almighty Rams this Sunday, the Giants will start Devontae Booker, who they signed to a two-year deal in the offseason. Booker recorded two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) following Saquon’s exit against Dallas.

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