Giants legend issues warning to Saquon Barkley

Former New York Giants running back and club legend Tiki Barber explained why he believes star ball-carrier Saquon Barkley must do whatever possible to play through a nagging ankle injury for this Sunday's game at the 3-1 Miami Dolphins.

"This team is going to start looking for who the replacement is," Barber said about Barkley during the Friday afternoon edition of the WFAN "Evan and Tiki" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "It’s been too many years of Saquon Barkley missing time. Missing significant time. He had a fantastic rookie season and a great season a year ago. All the time in between has been intermittent at best. Saquon needs to play this game, not only for the Giants to win, but for them to have confidence in him going forward." 

A torn ACL cost Barkley the majority of the 2020 season, and he then missed time during the following campaign because of an ankle issue. Most recently, the 26-year-old on a one-year contract hurt his ankle in a win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 17 and was sidelined for losses against the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks that dropped the Giants to 1-3. 

On Friday afternoon, the Giants officially listed Barkley as questionable for Sunday’s game at the Dolphins. 

It remains to be seen if right tackle Evan Neal lashing out at fans who booed the team during this past Monday's home loss to Seattle showed the Giants couldn't handle the pressure that came with making the playoffs last season. Barber suggested Friday that Big Blue needs Barkley to serve as a campaign savior at Hard Rock Stadium. 

"This Giants team is waffling without him," Barber added about Barkley. "They are lost without him…the Giants are dead in the water if Saquon doesn’t play. That is just the fact of the matter." 

As of Friday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Giants as 12-point underdogs for Sunday's encounter. If New York falls to 1-4, they theoretically could shop Barkley and other out-of-contract veterans to supposed contenders ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline.