Saquon Barkley in walking boot, on crutches after ankle injury

New York Giants’ fans and fantasy owners nationwide are freaking out after Saquon Barkley returned to the sideline on crutches and in a walking boot after suffering an ankle injury.

With Daniel Jones under center, the New York Giants’ offense is even more dependent on Saquon Barkley. That makes the latest update about his ankle injury very depressing for the Giants and fantasy owners across the country.

Barkley left the Giants’ game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with an ankle injury, and he was originally deemed questionable to return. After going to the locker room, Barkley returned to the sidelines in a walking boot and on crutches, which is definitely not a good sign for his short term future with the Giants.

The Giants have turned to Wayne Gallman for the rest of this game, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team look to pick up another running back in free agency if, as it looks like right now, Barkley is out for an extended period of time. We should have an official update on Barkley’s status after the game, but it doesn’t look like it will be a good one based on the images we’re seeing out of Tampa.

This also makes life very difficult for Jones, who has looked good in his first NFL start but is now down his biggest weapon for the foreseeable future. The Giants are already thin on talent on the outside, so losing a game breaker like Barkley could make it very easy for opposing defenses to shut down players like Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard.

As far as fantasy owners are concerned, it would be well-advised to start looking for a fill in for Barkley given the latest developments. Gallman will be a popular waiver wire add on Monday, but he obviously won’t come close to replacing the fantasy production from the top pick in most drafts.