During practice on Monday, the New York Giants caught a scare when phenom rookie running back Saquon Barkley came up limp after making a play.
It came on a pass from fellow rookie Kyle Lauletta where Barkley made a fingertip grab that resulted in him storming up the left sideline.
However, at the conclusion of the play, the 21-year-old came up slow after the play and needed an ice pack on his left leg/thigh.
Fortunately, around 15 minutes later, Barkley took his wrap off and walked off the field under his own power with his teammates, according to Art Stapleton of the North Jersey Record.
Soft tissue injury often spells weeks and weeks of a nagging, lingering potential for re-injury.
Barkley is coming off an impressive Week 1 debut, busting out a 39-yard run.
Afterward, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur made a comment on the injury, saying “think he’s all right, we’ll find out.”
There’s no need to panic right now, but it makes you wonder if the Giants will put Barkley out there again for this preseason to allow his injury to fully heal.
The Giants season has a lot to do with the health and production of Barkley and without him, they could be in trouble. Veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who is now 37 years of age, will need him to take some pressure off of him, too.
Again, it sounds like this injury isn’t anything to be overly concerned with, but any time you see a player of Barkley’s caliber injuring himself, however minimal, it’s a cause for concern.
It wouldn’t be crazy to see Barkley very little, if at all, for the rest of this preseason.
The Giants will take on the Detroit Lions in Week 2 of the preseason.