New York Giants provide updates on injury status of Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram
The New York Giants and head coach Joe Judge on Tuesday released some updates on two critical components of their offense ahead of Week 1: running back Saquon Barkley and tight end Evan Engram.
The updates, however, are far from telling. Judge said that it has not yet been determined whether Barkley and Engram will be available for the season opener; both players are currently listed as questionable.
Engram, selected by the Giants with the 23rd overall pick of the first round in the 2017 NFL Draft, has been dealing with a calf injury in the preseason, so his status remains up in the air. The Ole Miss product has been a leading target for the Giants since he’s been drafted, but the Giants offense hasn’t produced all that much. Cumulatively, Engram has caught 216 balls in four seasons, tallying 2,420 yards and 13 touchdowns. He struggled with dropped balls last year, something he’ll have to improve as he heads into a free agency year.
“In terms of Evan, he’s still going to see a doctor, they’re going to look at some things and kind of measure the severity of whatever it may be,” Judge said. “Obviously, two weeks out leaves a little bit of a different window than it normally would be in the preseason track as far as getting ready for the opener, so we’ll have to see where he’s at in terms of how we manage him.”
Barkley was also a first-round selection by the Giants, as he was taken out of Penn State with the second-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. While Engram has not quite lived up to first-round expectations, Barkley came into the league and shattered them. His rookie season, Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging five yards per carry, and reeled in 91 passes for an additional 721 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. His rookie performance was enough to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowl selection.
Barkley is working his way back from a much more severe injury, as he suffered a torn ACL in Week Two of last season. Judge said Barkley will keep working at practice; the Giants say that Barkley “worked out hard on the field before the [last preseason game].”
“We have two weeks to get ready for Denver,” Judge said. “Our focus really is on ourselves and getting polished up and building chemistry and getting going. This time of year, there’s obviously a lot of roster movement on our roster and others, guys being added, guys being (let go). Things of that nature always happen. We’ve just got to get the guys who are available ready to play.”