Saquon Barkley out for the year, how do Giants adjust on the ground?
By John Buhler
The New York Giants have no choice but to adjust without Saquon Barkley.
It wasn’t going to be a great season for the New York Giants anyway, but seeing its best player in running back Saquon Barkley be ruled out for the year with a torn ACL after Week 2 has officially ruined the G-Men’s campaign. Even though Daniel Jones won’t be able to hand the ball off to Barkley for the rest of 2020, the Giants still have 14 more games left to play before it’s finally over.
The Fantasy Footballers discussed what the Giants might attempt to do to offset the devastating loss of Barkley for the season. Though it’s a losing proposition, the guys did discuss three interesting running backs of note. They touched on the veteran Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman, who are already on their roster, as well as the two-time Pro Bowl free agent Devonta Freeman.
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The guys pointed out that Gallman might be the guy going forward, but keep in mind he was inactive for the Giants’ road loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 2. One would think he’d be getting more touches now that Barkley is done for the season. Lewis is what he is and will never be what he was with the New England Patriots, but the intrigue surrounding Freeman is fascinating.
Pay close attention to what Jason Garrett decides to do here in Week 3.
In the right system, Freeman was briefly one of the five best running backs in football. But once Kyle Shanahan got out of Dodge for the San Francisco 49ers’ head coaching gig, Freeman became little more than a loathsome burden of a contract for the Atlanta Falcons. He was released this offseason after six years in Atlanta, effectively replaced by Todd Gurley as the team’s starter.
Freeman nearly signed with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason, but wanted more money than what the team was offering him. It was to be a change-of-pace back that ultimately went to Carlos Hyde for pennies on the dollar. Waiting for his next opportunity to get back into the league, this might be too good of an opportunity for Freeman to pass up should the Giants want him.
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What this all comes down to is what direction new Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett wants to go in. We know that he loves to run the football from his days as the Dallas Cowboys head coach. Though he could favor Gallman or Lewis in-house, neither player was as good as Freeman was for the Falcons at his peak four years ago. Overall, it’s not a good situation at all.