Giants’ Saquon Barkley Tears ACL
The Giants’ fears have been confirmed. On Monday morning, the club announced that star Saquon Barkley has suffered a torn ACL. The running back will be formally placed on injured reserve, officially ending his season after just two games. 
The severity of Barkley’s knee injury was readily apparent when he was forced out early from Sunday’s game against the Bears. After an MRI of his right knee at the Hospital for Special Surgery, the former No. 2 overall pick now knows that he’ll be headed to the operating table. After that, Barkley will begin his road to recovery with an eye on 100% health to open the 2021 season.
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 full 16-game season as a rookie in 2018, the Penn State product notched 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He also added another 721 and four through the air while averaging 5.0 yards per carry. That was the kind of season that the Giants and Barkley were banking on.
Now 0-2 after falling to the Steelers and Bears, the Giants are left with Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman as their backfield leaders. Both players profile as capable backups — and Gallman has impressed on the practice field — but the Giants are still expected to scour the market for alternatives. There aren’t a ton of high-end free agent options at this stage of the season, but the trade market could provide the Giants with some opportunities.
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.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. There are many, as teams take advantage of the rule change allowing 55-man rosters ahead of regular-season games. Teams can dress 48 players for games this season, up from 46.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: TE Jordan Thomas
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted: LB Deon Lacey, LB Andre Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: DT Woodrow Hamilton
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Devante Bond
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted: G Eric Smith
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB LeVante Bellamy, LB Derrek Tuszka
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: DT Kevin Strong, DB Dee Virgin
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted: TE John Lovett, DL Willington Previlon
- Placed on IR: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Houston Texans
- Promoted: RB C.J. Prosise
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: TE Farrod Green
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: TE Ben Ellefson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: DT Braxton Hoyett
- Placed on IR: DL Khalen Saunders
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: RB Darius Bradwell
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: LB Natrez Patrick
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: CB Mark Fields
New England Patriots
- Promoted: DT Nick Thurman
New York Giants
- Promoted: DB Sean Chandler, DB Ryan Lewis
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: OL Hroniss Grasu
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: DT Anthony Rush
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, TE Tanner Hudson
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: WR Cameron Batson, RB Jeremy McNichols, CB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: LB Jared Norris, WR Cam Sims
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
Cap management has been extra complicated in the NFL this year. After ~70 NFL players opted out of the 2020 season, teams were left with holes and plenty of available dollars to fill the gaps. At first, the ongoing uncertainty over next year’s salary cap had teams nervous about large-scale commitments. Now, it seems like we’re getting back to business as usual.
Recent deals for Saints star Alvin Kamara, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and others demonstrate the league’s long-term confidence. In turn, we’ve seen cap figures change dramatically in September.
Here’s the rundown of each team’s estimated cap space for the 2020 season, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.4MM
- New York Jets – $28.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $27.5MM
- New England Patriots – $26.3MM
- Washington Football Team – $25.8MM
- Denver Broncos – $25.7MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars – $25.2MM
- Philadelphia Eagles – $20MM
- Detroit Lions – $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $16.7MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $14.2MM
- Los Angeles Chargers – $11.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals – $11.6MM
- Arizona Cardinals – $11.4MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $11.3MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $11.2MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $10.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $9.9MM
- New York Giants – $9.6MM
- Houston Texans – $9.6MM
- Tennessee Titans – $9.4MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8.8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $8.7MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7.7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $7.4MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.9MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $6.6MM
- Buffalo Bills – $6.5MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $6.2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $3.7MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $3.3MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $2MM
Former Giants WR Russell Shepard Retires From NFL
Longtime NFL wide receiver Russell Shepard has retired from the NFL (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Shepard, who also celebrated his 30th birthday today, spent seven seasons in the league. 
Shepard still had opportunities to play this year, but he wasn’t interested. In August, he declined the Ravens’ invitation to work out alongside Dez Bryant and other wide receivers.
Shepard spent the first five years of his career in the NFC South, playing for the Bucs and Panthers before inking a one-year deal with the Giants in 2018. The former undrafted free agent was always more of a special teams player than an offensive force. Statistically, his best season came in 2016 when he set career highs in catches (23) and yards (341). His first season in New York/New Jersey wasn’t much different – he notched just ten grabs for 188 yards and two scores. In 2019, he landed on IR after just three games.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Released: K/P Kaare Vedvik
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: RB Darius Jackson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: CB Cordrea Tankersley, C Tyler Gauthier
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL James Ferentz
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Derrick Dillon
- Waived: WR Alex Bachman
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Paul Worrilow
Washington Football Team
- Signed: TE Temarrick Hemingway
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/20
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: T John Wetzel
- Waived: T Timon Parris
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe
- Waived: CB Torry McTyer
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed off Bears’ practice squad: LB Rashad Smith
- Signed off Cardinals’ practice squad: T Alex Light
- Placed on IR: OL Cameron Erving, TE Blake Jarwin
Houston Texans
- Promoted: TE Pharaoh Brown
- Placed on IR: TE Kahale Warring
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: LB Asmar Bilal
- Placed on IR: LB Drue Tranquill
New York Giants
- Promoted: OL Chad Slade, S Sean Chandler
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: G Sua Opeta (story)
- Placed on IR: DE Vinny Curry, CB Craig James (story)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Jerald Hawkins
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: WR Cody Hollister
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/20
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DT Daylon Mack
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Treyvon Hester
Houston Texans
- Promoted: RB Scottie Phillips
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Placed on IR: RB Devine Ozigbo
New England Patriots
- Placed on IR: T Yodny Cajuste
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: S Montre Hartage
Logan Ryan To Play Hybrid Role For Giants
The Giants are planning for Logan Ryan to help at cornerback and safety. Joe Judge confirmed Ryan will play multiple spots, and Dan Duggan of The Athletic notes the former Patriots and Titans cornerback is expected to work in a hybrid safety-slot corner capacity (subscription required). Ryan played just 22 snaps at safety — as opposed to 855 in the slot — last season, but late in his free agency stay he began to market himself as a safety. Ryan’s 113 tackles last year led all cornerbacks and would have ranked fifth among safeties. Giants DC Patrick Graham was with the Patriots during three of Ryan’s four New England seasons. Second-round pick Xavier McKinney was set to play this role, but the Alabama product suffered a broken foot. McKinney had surgery late last month and is expected to miss at least two months. But he may well return to team with Ryan later this season.
- Players like Josh McCown, Johnathan Cyprien, Dion Jordan and Matt Moore accepted jobs on teams’ practice squads in recent days. But Jon Halapio did not want to play such a role. The veteran center declined a spot on the Giants‘ P-squad, Duggan tweets. The Giants brought Halapio back last week but cut him Saturday. Halapio, who worked out for the Texans last month, is healthy after suffering an Achilles tear in Week 17. Halapio began the past two seasons as the Giants’ first-string center; he started 15 games last season.
Giants Waive CB DeAndre Baker
As expected, the Giants have officially parted ways with cornerback Deandre Baker. The 22-year-old will be available for the rest of the league on the waiver wire, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be claimed.
[RELATED: Giants Cut WR Corey Coleman]
Baker is alleged to have robbed a party at gunpoint in May. Originally, Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar was charged as his accomplice, but the Broward State Attorney’s office declined to pursue charges against him. Baker still has felony charges to face, plus allegations of bribing witnesses.
Baker, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2019 draft, appeared in all 16 of the Giants’ games last year, including 15 starts. He notched eight passes defensed, but still looked pretty green on the whole. The Giants were expecting a big leap forward from him this year, up until the incident in Florida.
If convicted, Baker could face life in prison. Meanwhile, the Giants will attempt to recoup some of Baker’s $10.5MM in guarantees.