New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley opened the season with two monstrous performances that reminded us of his 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, but since then, it’s been an entirely different story.
Barkley went down with a high ankle sprain in a Week 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, returning a month later against the Arizona Cardinals. Since then, it’s been all downhill.
In Week 10 against the New York Jets, Barkley’s season (and young career) hit a low point with a one-yard performance in a crushingly embarrassing loss, which came on the heels of a 28-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys.
Barkley has not only struggled on the ground, he’s been a near non-factor in the passing game and a serious liability in pass protection.
So, just how worried should the Giants be at this point? According to The Ringer, they should be pretty concerned.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Saquon had 13 carries for 1 yard against the Jets last week. As Peter King noted, Saquon earned 2.8 inches per rush. It’s the least yardage by a non-quarterback with 10 or more carries since Reggie Bush in 2006 (another running back drafted second).
Barkley has been struggling since he returned from the sprained ankle he suffered against Tampa Bay in Week 3. Worsening Barkley’s situation is the Giants’ blocking. They are in the bottom quarter of teams in run blocking, according to Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards, and their ranking could drop with left tackle Nate Solder in concussion protocol. A reporter asked Barkley this week about sitting out the rest of the season to preserve himself, and Barkley was dumbfounded.
”The mind-set of sitting me out and resting me for the rest of the season is beyond me,” Barkley said. “I do not agree with it. It won’t happen. I’m going to keep going until I can’t go no more. That’s the player I am and I’m going to do it for my teammates.”
Any time sitting out for the season is broached, things are not going well.
Concern Index: 6/10
It’s admirable that Barkley wants to continue battling with his teammates on gameday, but it’s clear to anyone watching he’s not even close to 100% and it’s genuinely impacting his play.
Beyond that, Barkley is risking further injury and a shortened career by continuing to play hurt, all while putting other players (namely, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones) in jeopardy.
For all of those reasons, yes, the Giants should be very much concerned about their sophomore running back.
