Saquon Barkley stood at the podium and barely moved. He spoke quietly, softer than the loud wind blowing through the Giants practice facility.
The Giants’ star running back seems to be inching closer to a return, possibly even for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, but, for whatever reason, he wasn’t doing much smiling or celebrating on Thursday. And that was after a practice where he hit an important milestone in his rehab: He got hit.
Maybe not fully. But there was contact made on Barkley for the first time since he tore his ACL last September. No more non-contact red jersey. Giants coach Joe Judge has said if Barkley was going to return in Week 1, he needs to get hit practice first. It finally happened — and now he’ll have the weekend off to recover, too.
“They gave me some good shots,” Barkley said after practice. “Today felt good at practice and practicing with everyone on the team. I think that was definitely needed. Just grateful to be out there and just getting ready for the season.”
Barkley actually felt like the biggest sign of progress came in Wednesday’s practice where he he carried the ball in a situation — likely during team drills — unlike he had since before the injury.
So does he see the Week 1 light at the end of the tunnel?
“I know Week 1 and the season is right around the corner, but I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Barkley said. “That’s the approach I’m going to take not just rehabbing, but from now on. I feel like that’s the best thought process to have throughout the season, not just for me as a player physically, but mentally, too. So, I’m just going to take it one day at a time and that’s my approach. I’m just happy to be back out there playing the sport I love.”
So if Barkley is on his way back, and is actually able to play in Week 1 — Joe Judge said a decision won’t be made until next week, and not on Monday — the next question becomes how much he would actually play in that game.
Barkley won’t be the one to answer that question, certainly, but it’s clear he wants to be out there in some capacity.
“I feel good, taking it one day at a time,” Barkley said. “I’m just not even trying to think about ‘do I look like my old self?’ I’m a very confident player. I know whenever I’m able to get back out there – maybe it might be one quarter, maybe it might be one play – whatever the opportunity is, when I’m back out there I know I’m going to be able to go out there and be who I am and play how I am. Right now, I’m not focusing on if I’m making cuts saying, ‘Is that how it was before?’ I’m focusing on getting in football shape, just living in the moment, enjoying the moment and playing football again.”
If there’s any reason to believe Barkley might not be ready to return yet, though, just look at his response to a question about whether he feels like he’s close to being in “football shape”.
“Do I feel like I’m close? It’s been almost 11, 12 months since I’ve been in a football game, so right now obviously there’s still some work to be done, to be put in because obviously I’ve only been practicing for two to three days,” Barkley said. “That’s why I’ve got to be a pro outside of football, within football and getting myself ready.”
Golladay preaches patience
Kenny Golladay hadn’t spoken to the media since suffering a hamstring injury in practice on Aug. 3 — and he hadn’t really practiced much at all until this week.
Much of his first press conference since coming back focused on that latter point: It’s too soon to know how close he is to being ready for Week 1, though his return to practice certainly is a positive step.
“I mean, this is literally like the first day and a half I’m back out there, so it’s still fresh,” Golladay said. “I’ve still got to get my legs up under me and everything.”
Over the last two days, Golladay had been running routes and catching passes without issue in the portion of practice open to the media. It’s unclear if Golladay is participating in team drills yet, though he at least seems to be trending in that direction. Thursday was a padded practice and Golladay was in pads.
Now the Giants are off through the weekend and will practice on Monday — offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called it a “bonus” practice, since typically teams don’t practice on Monday of a game-week — when Golladay might be able to ramp up and get even more work in practice.
Golladay has experience with hamstring injuries — he missed a couple games to start last season with the Lions with the same issue — and admitted that they can be “tricky”.
“You’ve got to be smart and be patient with them,” he said.
Will he be ready for Week 1? Golladay, of course, wouldn’t say. He might not even know yet, anyway. But he does know what he wants.
“Oh, for sure,” Golladay said. “I want to play in the opener, yeah.”
One new offensive lineman debuts, one does not — and concern for Lemieux
The Giants traded for two interior offensive linemen this week: Billy Price (Bengals) on Monday, and Ben Bredeson (Ravens) on Tuesday.
Bredeson has been at practice the last two days and participated in Thursday’s practice. Price is isolated from the team and attending meetings virtually via Zoom until he clears the five-day window for COVID-19 protocol. Players that are vaccinated do not have to isolate, which is likely why Bredeson was available right away and Price is still in the process of joining the team.
Assuming Price passes through all the protocols, he’ll likely join the team after the weekend when everyone returns for practice on Monday.
Both he and Bredeson have limited time to get acclimated before Week 1 — and the possbility looms that one of them might even have to start at left guard if Shane Lemieux (knee) isn’t able to play.
The Giants admit the difficulty of getting them acclimated in time for the season.
“It’s just part of the deal. Each of these guys we think are smart guys, they’ve played football, they have experience,” Garrett said. “So, it’s their job. It’s our job to make sure that we catch them up as quickly as we can .. we’ve got to spend some extra time getting them up to speed.”
Lemieux has been in and out of the lineup throughout training camp due to a knee injury he suffered early on — The Athletic’s Dan Duggan reported it as a partially torn patellar tendon — and he missed all three preseason games. Lemieux also stayed in New Jersey when the Giants traveled to New England for joint practices last week, instead rehabbing at the team facility.
Offensive line coach Rob Sale acknowledged “concern” that Lemieux hasn’t been able to get many consistent practice reps in training camp. Lemieux is on a “pitch count” too, Sale said.
“He’ll get healthy, he’s a smart guy, he can apply the concepts,” Sale said. “When you’re out there in pass pro, you need to do it. So we’ve got to pick our spots (with Lemieux being limited) ... But what I love about Shane: He’s tough, he’s smart, he plays with all the intangibles. And that’s what I want.”
Extra points
- The Giants plan to bring back outside linebacker Trent Harris on the practice squad, according to New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard. Harris was a standout in training camp and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the active roster at some point this season. The Giants officially also added veteran offensive lineman Matt Skura and tight end Chris Myarick to the practice squad too.
Skura started 54 games over the last four years with the Ravens, mostly at center. He also was teammates for a year at Duke with Daniel Jones.
- In addition to price, wide receiver Collin Johnson — claimed off waivers from the Jaguars — also wasn’t at practice. Tight end Evan Engram, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and cornerback Josh Jackson were off to the side rehabbing injuries and didn’t participate in practice. Adoree’ Jackson seems a bit further off from a return than originally expected.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney (hamstring) practiced again and continues to look smooth in his movements running routes during injury drills. Here’s some video.
- One new player that was in attendance: Outside linebacker Quincy Roche, wearing No. 93. The rookie, claimed off waivers from the Steelers, has made a quick impression on defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
“I’ll tell you this, I’d never met him before. I’ve seen him on tape with our coaches,” Graham said before practice. “He almost broke my hand when he shook my hand. I said, ‘hey, that’s good, you know? ... He looks big. He looks big, he looks physical because he almost broke my hand. So, I’ll take that and then hopefully everything comes into play on the football field.”
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com.
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