EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This Sunday will be Saquon Barkley’s first game back at Soldier Field in Chicago, where he tore the ACL in his right knee just over 15 months ago. Not that he’s trying to think about the moment that everything changed.
Closure returning to the spot that may have altered the trajectory of his career? Nope. Barkley is not looking at it that way either. He’s trying, at all costs, to not contemplate the ‘what ifs’ of the situation anymore.
“I try not to think about it,” Barkley said ahead of his struggling New York Giants facing the Chicago Bears on Sunday. “But it happened. I really don’t try to think about it, I guess, probably more so last year [I did], but this is a whole different season.”
There really wasn’t much to the injury that occurred in Week 2 of the 2020 season and costs Barkley the final 14 games. He was running to the right sideline when his right knee gave out while he was trying to plant during a tackle by safety Eddie Jackson.
Barkley has not been the same player since. He has rushed for 461 yards and two touchdowns on 130 carries this season.
“No, I’m not thinking like, ‘I hate the field,'” Barkley said on Wednesday. “I’m excited that I’m healthy enough to be able to go out there and be able to play another game. Like I said, you never know when these opportunities are going to be taken away from you. That’s my whole mindset is cherish these last two games that we have and go out there and try to finish on a high note.”
It hasn’t been a great season for Barkley and the Giants (4-11). He started slowly coming off the serious injury and, just when he appeared to be regaining some of the explosion that made him Offensive Rookie of the Year, he stepped on one of the feet of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis in Week 5. An ankle injury sidelined him the next four games.
That injury is admittedly still lingering. Barkley, who is tied for last in the NFL among qualifying running backs at 3.5 yards per carry, didn’t…
Source : espn
