Joe Judge Explains Why He Would Play Saquon Barkley in the Preseason

Would Giants head coach Joe Judge really play Saquon Barkley in meaningless preseason game? He absolutely would and here's what's behind his thought process.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Aug 9, 2021 3:39 PM EDT

Ever since the Giants football resumes this year, all eyes have been anxiously awaiting news regarding the return of running back Saquon Barkley from a torn ACL.

And at every opportunity, Barkley, head coach Joe Judge and anyone else associated with the organization have insisted there was no timetable attached to the running back's return.

Fast forward to the start of Week 3 of training camp. Barkley, who began camp on the PUP list, was activated and participated in his first football practice since his injury, limited to individual drills during the Giants' light padless practice on Monday.

SEE ALSO: Giants RB Saquon Barkley Set to Come Off PUP

But the thing that seemed to catch everyone’s attention wasn't so much the continued insistence of head coach Joe Judge that the team would take things slowly with the running back. Instead, some eyebrows were raised when Judge admitted that he would be comfortable giving Barkley some preseason reps if the running back received the green light from the medical staff.

Judge’s surprising admission is based on a prior experience he had while serving as an assistant coach in New England when he once had to tell receivers Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas, and Julian Edelman that they were going to play in a preseason game.

“The thing is, before you get hit in the first game at full speed when the speed does elevate, we want to go out there and just get you used to the tempo of the game, the pace of the game, get you a catch, get you hit, get the feel of being tackled,” Judge said.

“That’s natural preparation. You don’t want to put someone in a situation where they’re just getting the gauntlet out there getting hit, but that’s part of actually preparation, your body understanding and feeling the flow of how to get hit, how to fall, how to recover after that.

"So, am I looking to put Saquon into something that’s not going to be in his best interest? Absolutely not, but at some point, the doctors say, ‘He’s ready to play,’ and if we have the opportunity to get him in at a certain point, we will. But I’m not going to press that timetable.”