New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has received rave reviews this offseason.
The ACL tear that kept him out of the 2020 season also impacted his return in 2021. Of course, some of that was also impacted by the pandemic, but his 2021 return was not what most people expected, and it’s clearly not what he expects of himself.
But here in 2022, Barkley feels as healthy as ever. And although he didn’t necessarily circle Week 1 on his calendar, he is very much looking forward to reminding the NFL world how dominant he can be when at 100 percent.
“I wouldn’t really say that Week 1 is the one I circled. It was kind of just camp. Just football in general. I was so excited to get back. Fresh start. New faces. Familiar faces,” Barkley told reporters on Friday. “Even though it was long, and it was tiring, in a weird way you kind of love the grind of camp. And that’s where you kind of build your team together and find out where you need to work on. Find out what things we’re capitalizing on in camp and take that onto the season.
“So, that’s been my mindset it was never really circling Week 1 or a certain game. It’s just really coming into camp and attacking that day. And attack that process. And get better every day.”
Over his first two seasons, Barkley accumulated 2,310 yards rushing, 1,159 yards receiving, 23 total touchdowns and one fumble, which he recovered. Last season, he appeared in 13 games and had 593 yards rushing, 263 yards receiving, four touchdowns and two fumbles (one of which was lost).
If you break that down, his production last season is about half of what he did in each of his first two seasons.
Suffice it to say, the fans are ready for him to return to his pre-injury production. And it seems Barkley wants to achieve that and then some this season. With all of the injuries mounting, it may be tough to see those numbers this season, but you can be sure he’s going to try.
“I’m really ready. If I have to compare it to last year, way beyond what I was before,” Barkley said. “It’s not even close.”
