Saquon Barkley's Return Offers Significant Inspiration to His Giants Teammates

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is on track to play in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Denver Broncos. Here's why that's a bigger deal than usual.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Sep 10, 2021 6:59 PM EDT

Giants running back Saquon Barkley is playing Sunday.

He knows it, head coach Joe Judge knows it, everyone in the Giants organization knows it, even if no one has come right out and said as much.

"Yeah, I’ve been hearing that pretty much all summer, all year. Especially with fantasy football. I guess people trying to get the scoop on it," Barkley said Friday after clearing presumably the final hurdle in his road back to the gridiron. "For me, I’m just continuing to come out here and take it one day at a time, enjoy being able to play football again with my teammates."

The Giants have been very deliberate in what they've asked Barkley to do, dating back to the spring. Recognizing that time has been on their side, they've brought him along at a steady but cautious pace, in not wanting to risk him undoing all that he has done to return from reconstructive knee surgery following a torn ACL suffered in Week 2 of last season.

Barkley has been a picture of optimism mixed with patience throughout the process, and while he refrained from declaring himself fully ready to go, he did let some of his optimism poke through.

"I’ve been thinking about just playing back on Sunday in front of fans since probably a week after my injury. Obviously, you have that little state of mind where you’re upset. You’re like, ‘Why me?’ You’re depressed and this and that, but then it’s come to kind of right after – you’ve got to start grinding and getting yourself back.

"I’m a big visualizer thinker, so I’ve been fantasizing of getting back on that field with my teammates and playing in there in front of fans. Obviously, last year we didn’t have fans, so whenever the opportunity does come, it’s something that I’m definitely going to cherish and never take for granted again."

The return of Barkley to the field Sunday would mean so much more than just the Giants getting a play-making talent back on the field. The return of one of the team's seven captains also provides an emotional lift to a team that continues to learn how to overcome life's unexpected curveballs.

"I think the thing about Saquon is the guys respect how he's worked, and they see how hard and long a journey it's been for him to come all the way back from where he's been and what he's done off the field, what he's done from a leadership standpoint," said head coach Joe Judge.

"The things he's had to go through and the attitude he's displayed along the way to put himself in position to potentially play Week 1, Week 2, wherever it may end up being, hopefully, sooner than later.

"But I'd say in terms of the emotion around that, I think everyone's just genuinely happy for this guy and is really doing everything he can, like they would for any teammates who has worked this hard to get back, for him to have success when he finally does."

The idea of Barkley being a source of inspiration to his teammates seemed to catch him off guard initially.

"I haven’t thought about it that way. But I’ve got great teammates and a whole bunch of friends throughout the team who have been with me through this whole process, who helped sacrifice for me, staying extra, sacrificing in their training time to come out here and train with me so I can compete with someone else," he said.

"So, I’m very thankful for my teammates and coaches and trainers I have here in this whole organization. They’ve been amazing during this process, during the sort of rehab process. That’s only going to make it so much sweeter whenever I am able to get back out there on the field for them."