Should the Giants Shut Down Saquon Barkley?

Saquon Barkley doesn't want to use his injury as an excuse, but it's hard to miss his struggles this year because of it. So that begs the question: Should the Giants shut him down in a lost season or let him continue to play?

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

After the Giants’ 34-27 loss to the Jets, the verbal shot fired by a Jets fan in a New York sports-obsessed group chat stung just as bad as the loss itself.

“Saquon. One yard. I could’ve had more.”

The reference was to Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s one yard on 13 carries, a statistic that defied all logic given the quality of player involved. This is a player who, in 2018, had a tremendous rookie season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards (1,307 rushing, 721 passing) and 15 touchdowns (11 rushing, four receiving).

He won the “Offensive Rookie of the Year” award, and he broke several NFL and Giants franchise records, including most yards from scrimmage from a rookie in league history (2,028) and most rushing touchdowns by a Giants rookie in a season (11).

As for his performance against the Jets, no one will mistake the Jets defense for the 1985 Chicago Bears or even the 2019 New England Patriots any time soon but give credit where it’s due: The Jets did a superb job on Barkley.

Giants RB Saquon Barkley had -13 rushing yards before contact on Sunday, the fifth-fewest by a player since ESPN began tracking it in 2007. He was contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage on 11 of 13 runs. The Jets dominated the Giants up front Sunday.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 11, 2019

The Jets ranked sixth in the NFL going into Sunday’s matchup, allowing just 89.2 rushing yards per game. Holding a once-in-a-generation talent like Barkley to one rushing yard is unheard of and quite an accomplishment for any defense.

That, however, is just a small part of a season that hasn’t come close to reflecting what Barkley is capable of delivering.

This season, Barkley has just 402 rushing yards and two touchdowns through seven games started. That’s a far cry from the 1,302 yards and 11 touchdowns from his rookie season one year ago.

In 2018, Barkley was first in rushing yards after contact (736) and second in receiving yards after contact (195) at the position, and 56.3 percent of his rushing yards came after contact.

This year, his numbers have dropped, and not just because of the games missed. As compared to Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (991 rushing yards and ten touchdowns) and the Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey (989 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns), Barkley’s 2019 rushing numbers are pedestrian, though again he did miss three games.

Cook and McCaffrey also have more receiving yards out of the backfield (404 and 396, respectively) compared to Barkley’s 258 receiving yards (on 33 receptions). Barkley is well known for not just his running but super catching ability, especially making defenders miss, but he hasn’t shown that as much this year.

Barkley, remember, suffered a high ankle sprain back in the first half of Big Blue’s Week 3 matchup against the Bucs and missed three games. Since returning, there is a growing number of people who believe that Barkley still isn’t right, although he is no longer on the injury report.

Barkley doesn’t want to hear that.

“To say that I’m not healthy, that’s just an excuse,” Barkley said. “Everyone is banged up. Everyone is going through something, and I’m not going to let that be an excuse for why I’m not having a successful season. The reason I’m not having a successful season is because I’m not making enough plays for my team.”

But if he’s not healthy, should he be shut down in what’s a lost season rather than continue to take a pounding on that ankle and his body?

Head coach Pat Shurmur has dismissed any talk of taking that route. He realizes that Barkley, even at 50%, is a lot better than most players around the league at 90%.

“He’s fine,” Shurmur told the media this week. “I saw him [Monday], and he said he’s feeling a lot better.”

But there is a balance of keeping your star player happy while also doing what’s best for the team and organization in the long-term.

Shurmur, now in his second season as Giants head coach, has a 7-19 record running the show in East Rutherford. The team has also lost their last six games and is in desperate need of a spark, which Barkley is undoubtedly capable of providing.

That’s probably why Barkley was so adamant about not wanting to be shut down for the rest of the year, telling reporters, “I don’t agree with that idea at all ... It won’t happen,” Barkley said.

But it might not be Barkley’s call, not if he continues to take the beating he’s taking every week. At some point, perhaps the Giants might look to save Barkley from himself. 

No, it won’t make him happy, but the question both sides must answer is if having their cornerstone franchise player continue to take a pounding in a lost season when he doesn’t have anything more to prove is worth it.