Getty Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants looks on against the Buffalo Bills.
In a foreseeable turn of events, New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley will not be ready to go for the start of training camp. The team has announced the placement of Barkley and five other players on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Barkley, who continues to rehab from a torn ACL that ended his 2020 season after just two games, has been rather coy on whether he will be ready for Week 1 of the regular season.
“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Barkley said at his annual Saquon Barkley Football ProCamp, via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “Taking it day by day. Just listening to my body. Whenever I’m able to get out there, just make sure I’m 110 percent. Not just for … my well-being, but just so I go out there and compete at a high level and show the world who Saquon is.”
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Giants fans shouldn’t look too much into Barkley’s placement on the PUP list, as this has been the expected course of action for quite some time now. The organization is expected to play it extremely cautious when it comes to their workhorse running back. In fact, Raanan reported back in May, that we likely won’t see Barkley go through a full practice “until later in training camp, if at all.”
While it’s certainly plausible the former NFL Rookie of the Year may not sniff the field until a few weeks into the regular season, Big Blue’s season opener against the Denver Broncos kicks off on September 12th. That would set the timeline approximately 11 months from when Barkley originally sustained his knee injury. In other words, it’s far from unreasonable to envision a scenario where Barkley is once again toting the rock for the Giants offense come Week 1.
Other Giants Placed on Active/PUP List
While undoubtedly the biggest name, Barkley was far from the lone notable addition to the PUP list. On Thursday, quarterbacks, first-year players and players rehabbing injuries reported to training camp, joining the rookies who reported the day prior. Here’s the list of arrivals who will be joining Barkley on the sidelines to begin training camp, as well as the rules of activating a player from the list, via the team’s official website:
- Center Jonotthan Harrison, (hamstring)
- Tackle Matt Peart (back)
- Tight end Kyle Rudolph (foot),
- Linebacker/Edge Oshane Ximines (hamstring)
- Cornerback Aaron Robinson (core muscle)
Players on the Active/PUP list can be activated at any time during training camp. If they are still on the list at the final roster cutdown to 53, they must either be activated or moved to the Reserve/PUP list. Players on the Reserve/PUP list must be inactive for the first six weeks.
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