A padded practice Wednesday and two full team workouts that follow stand between Saquon Barkley joining the New York Giants for the Week 1 opener against the Denver Broncos.
Giants head coach Joe Judge would not confirm Barkley’s status for Sunday’s home game.
Barkley, 24, did not play in preseason games and last played Week 2 of the 2020 season. He’s recovering from a torn ACL.
The ladder to returning to game action for Barkley has been measured by Judge and the Giants’ medical staff, which only last week exposed the running back to contact drills.
Activated from the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 9, Barkley has not yet experienced certain game-like contact such as full tackles or to-the-ground hits in route running, pass protection and position-specific drill work.
Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, led the NFL with 2,028 yards from scrimmage as a rookie while adding 15 touchdowns.
He was limited to 13 games the following season by a high-ankle sprain, finishing with 1,003 rushing yards and 438 receiving yards while scoring eight total touchdowns.
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–Field Level Media