He would offer no guarantees, but Saquon Barkley on Thursday definitely sounded like he has a chance to play Sunday at Miami as he recovers from his high right ankle sprain.
“I’d definitely say I’m in a better spot than where I was last Thursday,’’ Barkley said after practice. “So, [I’m] definitely encouraged, but I don’t want to make any guarantees. [I’m] continuing to trust in my body and trust in the training staff and go from there.’’
Barkley, who was knocked out of the Giants’ Week 2 game at Arizona and has missed the past two games, said he’s “definitely [been] able to do a lot more this week’’ in practice, adding, “[I] definitely can feel improvements, feel a lot better than what I was in this moment, in this spot than I was last week.
“I was able to do more team reps this week than I was the week prior. Keep sticking with it, keep sticking with the plan, trusting the [athletic] trainers, listening to them, and take it day by day.’’
Barkley, who’s no stranger to watching from sidelines with an injury, said he burns be back on the field playing, because he believes he can make a difference for an offense that’s produced just 15 points in the past two games without him — a 30-12 loss at San Francisco and a 24-3 home loss to the Seahawks on Monday night.
“Yeah, I would love to be out there,’’ he said. “I feel like I can help. I feel like I can help us get back on track. I know there’s some people out there that wouldn’t agree with that, but that’s why I believe in my mindset. I’m fighting, I’m trying to do everything I can in my power to get back and be there for my teammates.’’
He said “it sucks’’ watching from the sideline — especially when the team is losing.
“As a competitor, you want to be out there,, and you go back and look at film every game whether you play in it or you don’t [and] you think, ‘Is there anything else I could have done different if I was in this play or if I was here or there?’ ’’ he said. “That’s not any diss to [running backs] Gary [Brightwell] or [Matt] Breida. Those guys have been doing a great job coming in and making plays for us. But as a player, you want to be out there, and I’ll try my best. Each day, it gets better.’’
Barkley, a two-time Pro Bowler coming off one of his best seasons in 2022, had 114 rushing yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in the first two games of the season and had nine catches for 41 yards and a TD.
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