New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll wouldn’t rule out the possibility on Tuesday that star running back Saquon Barkley actually could play Thursday night against the 49ers just days after hurting his ankle.
“I’m not saying he’s out yet,” Daboll told reporters. “He’s a quick healer. … He feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. We’ll see where we’re at.”
Despite Daboll’s optimism early in the day, Barkley did not participate in Tuesday’s walkthrough, per the team practice report.
Barkley was injured late in Sunday’s historic comeback win over the Cardinals, suffering an ankle injury that NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday as a “week-to-week” issue.
But Daboll believes Barkley’s vast improvement over the past day can allow the Giants to go right up until Thursday afternoon before making a determination on his status for the game in Santa Clara, California. Daboll would not say that the reports of Barkley potentially missing multiple weeks were inaccurate, but he did say that different players need to be treated differently as far as how they heal.
“With every injury, until you’re with the player (and) you see the player, I don’t know — you might heal a little bit different than I heal, I might heal a little bit different than another player heals,” Daboll said on Tuesday, per the New York Daily News. “Saquon is a lot better than maybe I thought he would be or some other people thought he would be today. He might heal a little bit different than another player, if you will.
“So we’ll just take it day to day with him. And if he can make it, great. If he can’t, we’ll see if he can get better by the following week and we’ll just take it one day at a time.”
Barkley had an eventful game in Arizona, having a pass glance off his hands for an interception (for a second straight game) but also scoring twice in the thrilling 31-28 comeback that saw the Giants climb out of a 21-point second-half deficit.
Barkley is playing on a one-year deal worth up to $11 million this season and is set to be a free agent next spring. In two games this season, Barkley has rushed 29 times for 114 yards and one score and caught nine passes for 41 yards and a TD.
