The three most important players on offense for the New York Giants have yet to see the field at the same time this preseason, a fact that doesn’t look likely to change with two games left before the season officially kicks off.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continues to recover from last year’s season-ending ankle injury and has yet to play in preseason. Quarterback Eli Manning and running back Saquon Barkley both played in the first quarter of that opening preseason game, a 20-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, but neither played last week in the win at the Detroit Lions.
For Manning, the two-time Super Bowl MVP, it was a decision by head coach Pat Shurmur to sit out his veteran quarterback. In the case of Barkley, the rookie first round pick suffered a hamstring injury several days ago and may not be ready to go come Week 1.
All of which makes for a less than ideal situation for a Giants first-team offense that, for some pretty obvious reasons, hasn’t clicked yet. Hard to be firing on all cylinders when the three most influential players aren’t in the game.
“Not concerned with Odell, just because we got years of experience and you get a lot of reps in practice, which is important and nice,” Manning said. “We’ve had game experience together. Now Saquon, that’s different, just because he’s a rookie and missing some valuable time. So, I know he’s getting mental reps. It’s different than practice reps, it’s different than game reps. Hopefully, he can get back soon.”
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur wouldn’t commit to Barkley playing this week in the preseason game against the crosstown New York Jets. He simply said “We’ll try to be smart with him.”
As for Beckham, it seems like the plan is to try and get him ready for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It seems unlikely that the star wide receiver will feature at all in preseason.
Despite the likelihood that the Beckham-Manning duo will only share a sideline together this preseason, the two are still getting work in after training camp sessions. Shurmur is pleased with their dedication to the process.
“They just want to get on the same page, and at this point, we’re still practicing with all 90 guys. Some of the general reps together aren’t as many, and I can see right now through the window they’re out there doing it again,” Shurmur said. “But I’m used to that. Typically a quarterback will say, ‘hey, listen, after practice let’s get a stop nine. After practice, let’s get this, let’s get that.’ They’re out there doing it now, which is a good thing.”
