Giants RB Saquon Barkley reacts to Daniel Jones' season-ending injury

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley met with media members on Thursday and spoke about the season-ending torn ACL suffered by quarterback Daniel Jones during this past Sunday's 30-6 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders. 

"Yeah, it sucks," Barkley said about the situation, per the Giants' website. "It sucks. Dealing with that injury before, knowing the road he's about to go down but knowing DJ too, how tough he is and how hard he works, I know that it's only going to be a minor setback for a major comeback. He's going to be alright. He's a heck of a player, heck of a work ethic and going to do all the right things to put himself in a position to come back and be even better." 

Barkley knows plenty about what Jones will experience over the next handful of months. The ball carrier suffered a torn ACL back in Sept. 2020 and one could argue Barkley wasn't the same dynamic force following that injury until the start of last season. 

Giants wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Parris Campbell previously praised Jones for attacking his recovery this week. Barkley sounds unsurprised that his close friend is already working toward returning from this latest issue as quickly as possible. 

"His mindset, his work ethic, obviously going to have tough times during it but he's going to be more than okay," Barkley said about Jones. 

The banged-up 2-7 Giants now turn to Barkley and undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito to lead their offense as they prepare to play at a 5-3 Dallas Cowboys side that crushed New York 40-0 in Week 1. Barkley accumulated 36 total carries against the New York Jets when DeVito was under center on Oct. 29 and could be in for another busy day at AT&T Stadium this weekend. 

"I don't go into any game with any expectations of how many times I'm going to touch the ball," Barkley explained. "Just want to be in position to win football games, go out there and compete and whatever that takes, I'm willing to do." 

Barkley may have to produce a legendary performance in order for the Giants to merely hang with the Cowboys for even a half. As of early Thursday evening, Oddschecker listed Big Blue as a 17-point underdog against Dallas.