East Rutherford, NJ - The New York Giants running back Saxon Barkley cleared another hurdle when he came through his first contact at practice last weekend without a problem, multiple sources told ESPN.
If all goes well in Wednesday's padded practice, Barkley is expected to be on the field on Sunday for the team's Week 1 game against the Denver Broncos. His workload will still be limited as the Giants continue to take a long-term approach with their star following. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported last week that Barkley was headed in the right direction to play against the Broncos, only to have a late blow or the Giants potentially hold him back.
Barkley was out in practice on a good Monday afternoon.
Coach Joe Judge said, "I can't speak for him directly but he was smiling today."
"We'll see a little bit more from Barkley in practice this week," the judge said. After that, a decision on the running back's position for the season opener will be made later in the week.
"I want to see how he physically reacts to certain things within his body and move on from that and evaluate what's best for him this week," the judge said.
Barkley tore an ACL in his right knee last October, and the Giants have been extra cautious with their top offensive weapon this spring and summer. Barkley did not appear in pre-season games and did not participate in live practice in New England for less than two weeks, wearing a red, no-contact jersey.
His first taste of contact came Thursday at a padded practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Barkley later said, "It was nice to practice and practice with everyone on the team." "Looks like it was definitely needed. Just grateful to be out there and ready for the season."
It's mostly encouraging news for the Giants and their offense with Barkley, wide receivers Kenny Golladay (hamstrings) and Kadarius Tony (hamstrings), and tight end Kyle Rudolph (legs) all heading in the right direction for Week 1.
Only tight end Evan Engram (calf) is in serious doubt for missing Sunday's game.
“Many of these people are coming back now, we are optimistic about all of those people,” the judge said. "We'll see how they do in practice this week."