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Giants running back Saquon Barkley is questionable for Sunday’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a neck injury.
Head coach Brian Daboll said it wasn’t a guarantee Barkley will play.
“I hope so,” Daboll said Friday. But he couldn’t remove all doubt.
“I’d say [we’ve] probably got to see,” he said.
Barkley was limited at Friday’s practice for the second straight day. He was not in the Giants’ locker room afterward.
On Thursday, when Barkley was asked how he is feeling physically, he said: “I feel like it’s Week 14 in the season … It’s a grind. It’s the wear and tear of the mind, the body … I know people are saying I’m slowing down. I really don’t see it like that. I think we’ve played some tough teams.”
Barkley’s production has plummeted recently, though, due to a combination of stronger competition, less effective blocking in front of him, and a seemingly less explosive version of the Giants’ top back.
It’s unclear if Barkley’s right shoulder, which he injured in London in early October, has created the neck issue he has now. It’s possible he got hurt in last Sunday’s 20-20 tie with Washington when he slowed down for only seven carries for three yards in the second half and overtime.
He also had a couple of runs in that game when it appeared he may have been protecting a part of his body rather than plowing through.
Daboll admitted that Barkley did not sustain the injury in Thursday’s practice. He said the team knew Barkley would be limited that day after a full practice on Wednesday.
Given the playoff stakes of next week’s Sunday Night Football game at Washington, it would be understandable if the Giants erred on the side of caution with Barkley this Sunday as steep underdogs against the Eagles.
But Daboll said that game’s magnitude would not impact how he manages the roster this week.
“No,” he said.
Barkley and Daniel Jones were the only two Giants to carry the ball in last week’s draw with the Commanders. So if Matt Breida or Gary Brightwell have to step into heavy-duty against Philly, they’ll be doing so without having received a carry out of the backfield since Thanksgiving.
NOT SO FINE
Giants center Jon Feliciano was fined $10,500 by the NFL for taunting in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s 20-20 tie with the Washington Commanders, according to a source.
Feliciano flexed his arms at Darius Slayton after the wide receiver’s 12-yard catch down to Washington’s 35-yard line. Feliciano said he was looking at Slayton and celebrating. He was not directing any trash talk at Commanders’ players.
But he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the Giants were penalized 15 yards. That cost them at least a field goal try that likely would have put them up 10 points and ended the game with around five minutes to play.
Giants co-owner John Mara helped lead the charge for the NFL to place an extra emphasis on curbing player taunting in recent years, so, unfortunately, the Giants made their own bed here.
TEAM TESTING TURF
The Giants have two large patches of different kinds of turf sitting in a parking lot outside their practice facility. The Jets do, too. The reason? They are going to have players test potential new playing surfaces for MetLife Stadium.
The two franchises and stadium officials already have committed to changing the oft-criticized surface for the 2023 NFL season. Players ideally want grass. But the first step apparently will be the testing of alternative turf surfaces. Mara promised to involve the players in the process, and this represents one way he’ll do that.
NO TIME FOR TAE’S TWEET
A reporter told defensive coordinator Wink Martindale that Tae Crowder’s “FREE ME” tweet seemed to indicate the linebacker was upset about his benching.
“Yeah, well, life is all about choices,” Martindale said bluntly.
Crowder said he apologized to the team for a tweet he believed was misconstrued, but clearly, Martindale has no tolerance for Crowder’s social media venting.
GIANTS GAME STATUSES
Out: CB Adoree Jackson (knee), LG Josh Ezeudu (neck), LG Shane Lemieux (toe). Doubtful: DL Leonard Williams (neck). Questionable: RB Saquon Barkley (neck).
Notes
WR Marcus Johnson (illness) did not participate in Friday’s practice along with Jackson, Ezeudu, Lemieux and Williams, a group of four that didn’t practice all week. Barkley was limited for a second straight day.
EAGLES GAME STATUSES
Out: LB Shaun Bradley (hamstring)
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