FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Saquon Barkley had to react quickly to change direction and avoid slight contact on Thursday and he didn’t flinch.
He didn’t second-guess his surgically repaired right knee on his final rep against the Patriots, a fairly explosive catch and run on an angle route over the middle.
“You know what? When I caught the ball I wasn’t thinking about my knee or anything,” the running back said after his first 11-on-11 football since Sept. 20, 2020. “That’s a positive sign, I would say.”
Barkley and Patriots edge Dont’a Hightower briefly came together as they sprinted left to right towards Daniel Jones’ pass, but Barkley caught the ball and then deftly danced through and around the slight contact upfield.
Barkley had a twinkle in his eye because he knew it would have been a huge gain if the officials didn’t blow the play dead.
“I might have got a lot more [yards] than what we accounted for,” he said. “I didn’t really get to open up; we kinda blew the whistle. I personally think maybe it would have been a different outcome there.”
Barkley, wearing a red non-contact jersey, only took eight reps in the entire practice, including four in an early 7-on-7 red zone period. But his four snaps and two catches in 11-on-11 were a welcome uptick in workload.
He crossed the goal line for a 7-on-7 touchdown in the left flat, exciting fans in the stands. And then the Giants’ sideline got a noticeable charge out of Barkley’s big play.
“You saw it, man,” safety Logan Ryan said. “[When] he gets that red jersey off, he’s a tough tackle. He brings a lot of energy to our team. He’s one of our better players. It’s good to see him feeling like himself, bouncing around, getting some action.”
Barkley made no grand projections or statements about his Week 1 availability, but he was in good spirits. And not just because he was relieved to be back after missing Wednesday’s practice due to personal reasons.
“I feel really good right now,” he said. “My body’s responding really well. That’s another positive thing. We’ll see after I continue to take more reps in team periods how my body responds, and we’ll get to know a little bit more.”
That’s great to hear because Barkley doesn’t look like himself on every rep.
He ran one route into the left flat on Thursday that just didn’t look right, almost as if he was being careful not to take a wrong step.
And even he admitted that he’s “just getting back to the feel of things.”
“I caught a little swing route in the 7-on-7 and really forgot we were in the low red zone,” he said. “It’s those little [things] that’s gonna come to you naturally as you take more reps.”
But then he caught a ball in the flat and on the next play was nearly off to the races on the angle route against Hightower.
“He’s looking great,” said linebacker Blake Martinez, the Giants defender who normally draws Barkley in individual drills. “He’s doing what he needs to do. Excited to have him back when he’s ready.”
Barkley, who tore his right ACL and partially tore his meniscus at Chicago in Week 2 last season, admitted he does not like wearing the red No. 26 non-contact jersey.
“I hate it,” a smiling Barkley said. “I hate it.”
But he said if he gets him on the field, so be it. And he’s clearly feeling good.
He said he went 100% “within the realm of what I was doing” in the team period, and after practice, he even ran the hill at the back of the Patriots’ fields.
“I know he’s been chomping at the bit,” Ryan said. “It’s always exciting to get that opportunity and dust off those cobwebs. I thought he did a good job today.”
Barkley still is only taking small steps, though, and the Giants’ regular season opener is quickly approaching on Sept. 12.
But Joe Judge said the Giants will stick to their steady plan and that there is still time to get players like Barkley ready for Week 1. It will just depend on how his body responds.
“I’d say there’s enough time to get a lot of things accomplished,” Judge said. “He’s consistently ramped up every week, increased his volume, increased his load. [Now he’s] in team drills for the first time. So we’ll see how he handles [it] and we’ll build him [up more Friday].”