The New York Giants still intend to conduct a series of practices before heading into their bye week, and it’s possible that running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) and/or left tackle Andrew Thomas (ankle) will participate.
Currently, Barkley is sidelined with a low-ankle sprain, while Thomas resides on injured reserve.
Even if the two do not practice in the coming days, there’s some optimism building that both Barkley and Thomas will be available for a Week 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’d say for both guys based on the conversations that (I had on Monday) with trainers, I’m hopeful that we would be able to have both guys back for Tampa,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters. “I think we’ve got to give them an opportunity this week. Saquon’s obviously been out of the building for the better part of a week (due to a false-positive COVID-19 test) and that’s unfortunate because it was something he was pushing toward, really getting back on the field for us. We’ll look to get him out there and just make sure we check his conditioning and football movements and all that stuff in the week going forward with it and make sure he’s good to get back on the field.
“In terms of Andrew, he obviously got rolled up pretty good against the Rams, so he was placed on IR. This would be an opportunity for him to come out of that IR situation and be available. We’ll get him on the field (Tuesday) and have him do some things with the trainers, in terms of seeing him move around that may open up a window to get him out there a little bit more on Wednesday and do some things in practice with us.
“Both those guys will be here throughout the week continuing to rehab and progressing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have both of those guys available. I wouldn’t be able to give you a definite answer right now on the exact timeline, but hopefully, it works out for those guys and for the team that we get them back sooner than later.”
With the extra week and then the extra day — the Giants play on Monday night when they return — there’s a solid chance both Barkley and Thomas do make it back in time.
It’s unclear if the Giants are as optimistic about Sterling Shepard (quad) after Judge failed to mention the wide receiver on Monday.
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