Judge: Barkley must clear 'one more hurdle' to play vs. Broncos

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Giants head coach Joe Judge: Saquon Barkley must clear 'one more hurdle' to play vs. Broncos

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/10/21

Fantasy football owners can go ahead and pencil New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley into their lineups ahead of Sunday's regular-season opener against the Denver Broncos.

All may, however, want to wait at least one more day before locking in such selections.

Per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, Giants head coach Joe Judge said that Barkley still has "one more hurdle" to clear to be available to be in the Big Blue backfield at MetLife Stadium Sunday afternoon:

Saquon Barkley has “one more hurdle” to clear today, Joe Judge said. If he gets through practice and there’s no setback, he’ll be good to go. Judge said a setback today is the only thing that would keep Barkley from playing on Sunday.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) September 10, 2021

The 24-year-old who went down to a torn ACL roughly 12 months ago was limited in practice Wednesday, but offensive coordinator Jason Garrett told reporters Thursday Barkley was "100%" recovered from the injury that prematurely ended his 2020 campaign in less than six full quarters of action.

Judge and company managed Barkley cautiously throughout the spring and summer, so it's no surprise they want to make sure the electric ball-carrier endures no setback ahead of the weekend. It seems, though, that Barkley would start if the Giants-Broncos showdown happened Friday night rather than two days after Judge's update.

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