New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is ready to get his career back on track after dealing with a myriad of ankle and knee injuries since the middle of the 2019 season, which has severely limited him over the past two years.
Once a prized offensive weapon, Barkley has been limited to only 627 rushing yards and three total touchdowns over the past two years combined.
Barkley is now looking to prove he is still the player that dazzled prior to the injuries, and thrive in new head coach Brian Daboll’s offense.
“My mindset from just the last two years, to be honest, I kind of just want to kill, go crazy. I don’t want to jump the gun. It’s a long way before September and we start the regular season,” Barkley said during the teams’ voluntary workout, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
“To be honest, I’m just tired of whatever is written about me, the B.S. that’s said about me or this team. I want to go out there and prove to this organization that the player they drafted is still there, I can still do special things with the ball in my hands, and I can help this team.”
“One thing I’ve learned is the story that’s going to be told is people are going to shape it the way they want it to be told,” he continued. “I feel like there’s a lot of things that are left out.”
While not naming names, Barkley has heard the chatter and is ready to prove everyone wrong.
“It’s not just that, to be completely honest. The productivity level, it’s just — I don’t want to really get too into the details of what is being said,” Barkley said. “If I get into that, probably you know who I’m talking about. So, I’m just going to say that I’m just tired of B.S. Just want to go out there, play the game I love, and have fun with my teammates.”
Barkley has also said that he feels a lot better, and healthier as the summer approaches.
“I definitely feel a lot different, a lot better. I feel like myself again,” Barkley said. “Obviously, I don’t want to jump the gun, I just want to keep focusing on the little things and get better every day. No matter what for the rest of your career, with injuries, every offseason is going to be kind of somewhat rehabbing or prehabbing so you make sure you don’t get injured.”
During the offseason rumors surfaced that Giants general manager Joe Schoen was open to trading Barkley, and a number of reports indicated that the Giants were exploring doing just that. However, both Shoen and Daboll called Barkley from the NFL Combine to make it clear that they weren’t actively looking to trade him.
“At first, I was working out and I came home and my phone was blowing up. I was like, ‘What the heck?’ At first, I thought I got traded, but you never know in today’s world,” Barkley said of the call. “But then when I looked it up and I saw it, I didn’t really take it like that, to be completely honest. That’s his job. He’s supposed to do whatever he feels that can help this team win and this organization win. That’s his job. When I saw the response, I really didn’t take it as, ‘Oh, dang, he wants to get rid of me, or the Giants want to trade me.’
“To be honest, I felt like that was more of just word of mouth, the media kind of create a story. I didn’t really take it like that to be completely honest.”
