The New York Giants will officially see the return of running back Saquon Barkley (knee) on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
The 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who suffered a torn ACL nearly one year ago to the day, was medically cleared on Saturday night and given the green light.
It’s official. Saquon Barkley was medically cleared, per source. He is expected to return Sunday for the season opener against the Broncos. Tore his knee in Week 2 of last season. Back 11+ months later.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 12, 2021
#Giants RB Saquon Barkley will play today vs. the #Broncos, fully cleared by doctors following a strong week, sources say. That said, Barkley — recovering from a torn ACL — will be eased in and used sparingly. He’ll get snaps, but the team won’t put him at risk so early.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2021
What sort of limits the Giants and head coach Joe Judge put on Barkley remain to be seen.
Despite the report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that Barkley is likely to have a limited role, Judge previously implied he’s no fan of the “pitch count” approach.
“To me, you’ve got to just have guys at the game who could play,” Judge told reporters this week. “Now, however we structure a game plan for individual players, whether it be Saquon or any other player on our team, we try to stick to that game plan until we have to make necessary adjustments in the game. You want to at least start the game out with some consistency to what you prepared for, so the players have an idea.
“Now look, we adjust every drive on the side, that’s our job. That’s the players’ job to understand that things are going to happen within it. In terms of specific rep numbers and pitch counts, to me, it’s just more important to know that this guy’s healthy. To me, if you go out there for one snap, I want to make sure you’re able to go out for that one snap full speed. In terms of the volume that we may play any specific player, a lot of it will be dictated by the flow of the game. A lot of decisions get made in game. I wouldn’t want to take someone into a game where we say he can only do this and then all of a sudden you get to a point you have to do more. If you go in with a certain plan, you want to stick to that plan as best you can knowing what’s best for an individual player.”
That might lead one to believe that there will be no such pitch count for Barkley and that’s he’s in line for his full load of work.
Meanwhile, the Giants also received positive news in regard to cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Despite being listed as questionable, he, too, has been medically cleared to play.
The Giants defense is also expected to be whole. CB Adoree Jackson is expected to be available Sunday vs. Denver.
He was listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 12, 2021
As important as Barkley’s return is, having Jackson back in time for the Broncos game might be even bigger news for the Giants.
