Giants RB Saquon Barkley was among multiple players who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, the team’s injury report confirmed.
S Xavier McKinney and G Matt Skura are also in COVID protocol.
Head coach Joe Judge announced Wednesday before practice that running backs coach Burton Burns had tested positive for COVID-19. He was among 13 members of the organization who initially tested positive, but Burns was the only one of that group who remained positive on a retest.
In the afternoon, Vacchiano reported that Barkley and multiple other players — who were not part of the initial group of 13 — tested positive. Those players received PCR tests and the Giants expect the results back Wednesday night.
“It’s a 2020-2021 NFL season,” Logan Ryan said about the slew of positive tests. “I mean, its nothing new. We wear tracers every day, get COVID tested. So stuff like this comes up you don’t know. Obviously results are gonna come back, but I’m not going to speak too much on it. We obviously had experience of this last season.”
Barkley, who is vaccinated, needs two negative tests in a 24-hour span to be cleared to practice or to play. That’s the protocol only for vaccinated players.
Barkley is also still dealing with an ankle injury he’s been battling since Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.
The status of Burns, 69, is unknown at the moment as Judge didn’t elaborate on his situation.