The only fear Saquon Barkley seems to have is putting the cart before the horse, and raising expectations for Giants fans yearning to cheer their Secretariat clad in 26 nearly nine months after a devastating torn ACL at Soldier Field ended his season after only 34 rushing yards and six catches.
He let a revealing smile do most of the talking on Wednesday for his rehab progress, and he repeated variations of “just taking one day at a time” for the status of the most important right knee in New York sports you might as well have called him Day to Daquon.
When he was asked if he were cutting or jumping, Barkley smiled and said: “I’m doing well. I’m doing pretty well, just taking one day at a time.”
But whenever the day arrives, and the Giants right now are fully convinced it will, that day when he will know better than anyone that he can be Saquon Barkley again, there will be no fear inside him, fear that can always tame a tiger the next time he roars in the NFL jungle. Because as Yogi might have told us, football is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical. Barkley has already been forced to tough his way back from a high ankle sprain in 2019.
“Those are conversations that you have to have with yourself,” Barkley said. “But no, there is not a fear. ’Cause at the end of the day … I have this belief you control what you can control. Both those times I’ve been hurt so far in my NFL career, were things that really nothing I could have done to change. So for me, just continue to work, continue to try to control the things that I can control, and go out there and play free.
“Just go out there and be 26, and be Saquon Barkley, be that big kid that loves the game of football.”
He cried when his knee betrayed him, asked, “Why me?” before quickly remembering how champions are supposed to respond to adversity such as this, and he has attacked his rehab as if there is no tomorrow just so there are many more tomorrows.
“You want to get back there as fast as you can obviously, but you have to be smart,” Barkley said. “At the end of the day, I want to do the best for my team, not just for a short span but for a long time. Like I said, I have no expectation, no set day when I’m going to be full go.”
“You want to get back there as fast as you can obviously, but you have to be smart,” Barkley said. “At the end of the day, I want to do the best for my team, not just for a short span but for a long time. Like I said, I have no expectation, no set day when I’m going to be full go.”
In the meantime, it is an empty feeling watching your teammates frolic outside on the grass when you would give anything to be frolicking with them. The impatient strain to recognize that patience is a virtue.
“I’ve been peeking through the windows,” Barkley said, and smiled.
No one more than John Mara and Steve Tisch — with the possible exception of Dave Gettleman, Joe Judge and Daniel Jones — is keeping their fingers crossed that Barkley will be Barkley again, and resume what they believed from the time he was the second-overall pick of the 2018 draft is a gold jacketed-race to Canton.
They all want him to be a Giant for life, but you can’t be a Giant for life until you are a Giant for 2021, so contract discussions are understandably delayed.
They all want him to be a Giant for life, but you can’t be a Giant for life until you are a Giant for 2021, so contract discussions are understandably delayed.
“At the appropriate time we’ll start those discussions,” Mara said in April.
Barkley is a franchise’s dream, a natural-born leader who relentlessly parrots the-sky-is-blue company line. He appreciates that the club has no interest in rushing him back. He is under contract through 2022.
Barkley is a franchise’s dream, a natural-born leader who relentlessly parrots the-sky-is-blue company line. He appreciates that the club has no interest in rushing him back. He is under contract through 2022.
“That’s not even something that’s crossing my mind,” Barkley said. “Right now the only thing I’m focusing on is coming here today, working my butt off, and trying to get as ready as I can so when I’m able to get back out there I’m 110 percent and I can perform to the best of my abilities for my team.”
He is also a marketer’s dream, and he is well aware that there is no better place to market yourself than here. If he is able to return to anything close to 100 percent, the Giants will drive up with their Big Blue Brinks truck.
“This is the place that drafted me,” Barkley said. “It’s a special place to be. And it’s an honor and privilege to be able to put on the blue and white and come out as a Giant.”
Devontae Booker was signed as an insurance policy, and Gary Brightwell was drafted in the sixth round. No one is expecting Barkley to play in the preseason games.
Barkley’s presence is critical for Jones to take that elusive next step. Jones should feel like a kid in a candy store with the additions of WR Kenny Golladay, first-round pick WR Kadarius Toney and TE Kyle Rudolph to join Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Evan Engram … but imagine if Barkley, The Straw That Stirs The Drink, becomes a Comeback Player of the Year candidate.
“I’m really excited about the offensive weapons that we added. … We have a lot of talent. I think our team can be very special,” Barkley said.
Does he have any doubts that he will be ready for Opening Day?
“I’m just taking it one day at a time, small little wins, you climb up a mountain, you’re not going to get up there in one step. It’s a lot of steps and you have to take it one day at a time and that’s the approach I’m taking.”
Day by Daquon said.