NEW YORK — Jabrill Peppers got the first practice hit on Saquon Barkley last week, and the safety might have said too much on Wednesday when asked how it went.
“Pretty well, pretty well,” Peppers said. “You know, he’s not 100 percent, so I don’t really take too much in it. We’ll see how he’s feeling down later in the year.”
Peppers isn’t one of the Giants’ team doctors, but his assessment echoed Barkley’s status on the first official injury report Wednesday: limited.
The starting running back is coming off a serious right knee injury and surgery. So Joe Judge can only put him on the field Sunday against the Denver Broncos if the medical staff says his running back can handle it.
Barkley has now had only two contact practices: last Thursday and now Wednesday, in limited fashion.
“He’s progressed nicely. He’s gotten better for us,” Judge said. “We want to make sure we make the best decisions for him long-term. I can’t stress that enough … We’ve got to make sure that we do the best thing for him. Ultimately the best thing for him will be the best thing for the team.”
Barkley’s body might tell the doctors he’s ready for some limited work against the Broncos. Maybe Judge, Peppers and the Giants are just being coy and he’s planning to go full tilt.
But this truly seems like the Giants are going carefully, day-to-day, assessing where Barkley is. It doesn’t appear to be a given that he’s going to play. If he does, a pitch count makes sense.
“We just want him to get healthy,” Peppers said. “We’re going to keep trying to get him as ready as possible on the defensive side of the ball. We can’t wait to get him back.”
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