Running back Saquon Barkley played in the Giants’ preseason game as a rookie and then sat out the next three games after hurting his hamstring in practice.
The lack of summer game action didn’t hurt Barkley come the regular season. The rookie posted 2,028 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 touchdowns during an outstanding rookie season, so it’s fair to wonder if the team will feel the need to give him any preseason playing time heading into his sophomore season.
Barkley didn’t play against the Jets last week and head coach Pat Shurmur won’t say whether Barkley will be playing against the Bears on Friday or any of the team’s other August opponents.
“He’s a valuable player, so we’ll just have to see as time goes on if he’s going to play in these games,” Shurmur said, via the team’s website. “I gave you a clue on the quarterbacks this week. I’ll let that reveal itself. . . . I just want to be smart. I want to do what’s best. I think as we go through it, you see the good work he’s getting in practice. We just want to continue to do that.”
It doesn’t sound like there’s any great urgency to see Barkley in a game situation until the Giants are in Dallas to face the Cowboys on September 8, but it also doesn’t sound like Shurmur will pin himself down one way or the other.