Giants taking rehabbing Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney to preseason game in Cleveland
Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Saturday, Aug 14, 2021. Credit: Brad Penner
Two key pieces to the Giants’ offensive plans this season will make the trip to Cleveland for this week’s joint practices and preseason game, but it remains unclear what they’ll be able to contribute to the events.
Joe Judge said Saquon Barkley and Kadarius Toney will travel with the team despite their injuries. Barkley is returning from a torn ACL last season and Toney, the first-round pick, has an undisclosed injury that kept him from participating in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Jets.
"Let them do some of their rehab and recovery while we are out there, either at Cleveland’s facilities or on the field as we’re practicing," Judge said of how he intended to treat all of the injured players, a list that includes Barkley and Toney and, for that matter, wide receiver Kenny Golladay coming off a hamstring injury.
Judge said on Saturday that Toney had aggravated an injury late last week — Judge refused to say what the injury is — so he was held out of the preseason opener. He said he is "hopeful" Toney will be able to return to the field this coming week.
As for Barkley, Judge said the plan is to keep him out of any live drills against the Browns players.
"He responded well last week to the volume and the load," Judge said of Barkley. "At this point the focus is really to get him moving more and more with football movements. In terms of what that will mean for him this week in Cleveland, we’ll have to wait and see."
Notes & quotes: The Giants’ biggest play of the preseason opener also elicited the biggest reaction from the sideline. RB Sandro Platzgummer’s 48-yard run whipped the entire bench into a frenzy, with Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard leaping for joy and Barkley barely able to contain his glee. "Everyone likes Sandro, that’s the best way I can put it," Judge said of the Austrian player who spent last year as an international exemption on the roster. "When anyone like him has success, I think everyone shares and enjoys it" . . . Two players suffered what appear to be season-ending injuries on Saturday: LB TJ Brunson tore his left ACL and S Joshua Kalu tore his pectoral. They are likely to be placed on injured reserve as the Giants reduce their roster from 90 to 85 by Tuesday. G Kyle Murphy sprained his ankle in the game.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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