Giants Fear RB Saquon Barkley Has Torn ACL

Absolutely devastating news for the Giants, as it appears Saquon Barkley will be done for the year. New York fears their young running back has torn his ACL, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Schefter adds that official confirmation won’t come until Monday, but since field tests for ACLs are extremely accurate, it’s all but certain. Barkley was completely bottled up in the Giants’ Week 1 loss to the Steelers, and went down early in their game against the Bears. The Penn State product hasn’t always had a ton of room to run behind New York’s patchwork offensive line, but he’s still managed to be electric during his first couple of years in the league.

The second overall pick of the 2018 draft, Barkley quickly became one of the most recognizable faces in the NFL, and this is a huge loss. Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman are next up at running back for the G-Men, although it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if they went out and added a veteran in the wake of this injury.

Barkley was hampered by an ankle issue last year that limited him to only 13 games and had him hobbled in several others. In his only 16-game season as a rookie he had 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, adding another 721 and four through the air while averaging 5.0 yards per carry.

The Giants are now 0-2 on the year, and will be missing the heart of their offense moving forward. It certainly won’t help Jason Garrett’s first year as offensive coordinator, and Daniel Jones will now be without his safety blanket. Here’s to hoping Barkley makes a full recovery in plenty of time for the 2021 season.

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