Brian Daboll isn't ready to rule out Saquon Barkley for Thursday night in San Francisco
Giants running back Saquon Barkley dives into the end zone for a touchdown as Cardinals linebacker Krys Barnes defends during the second half of an NFL game on Sunday. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
TEMPE, Ariz. – The question to coach Brian Daboll on Tuesday morning presumed, seemingly fairly, that Saquon Barkley would miss three games with an ankle sprain.
Daboll wasn’t willing to concede that.
Far from it.
“I wouldn’t count on that, not just yet,” Daboll said.
The Giants coach wouldn’t even concede that Barkley, who injured his ankle in the final seconds Sunday as the Giants prevailed over the Cardinals, will miss Thursday night’s game at San Francisco.
Well, that qualified as a surprise.
“I’m not saying that he’s out yet,” Daboll said. “He’s a quick healer. I’m not saying he’s in [or] he’s out. We are going to take it all the way up with him to Thursday. But he feels a lot better today. I just talked to him. So, we will see where we are at.”
If Barkley is unable to play, the Giants backup is Matt Breida, a seven-year veteran with San Francisco and Buffalo among his former NFL stops.
Breida, knowing he very well might figure into Thursday’s plans, said: “I just want to go out there and play for my team. At the end of the day, I’m grateful to still be playing in the NFL, you know I came undrafted, so just to be here, I am blessed and whatever my team needs me to do, I’m going to do.”
He added: “As far as I know, it’s a game-time decision, so I guess we will see on Thursday.”
There is a chance, of course, that Daboll is using a bit of gamesmanship, in hopes of keeping the 49ers guessing.
There is also the possibility that Daboll knows Barkley wants to play – which he does – and doesn’t want to dim those changes before Thursday’s inactives are due 90 minutes before the game.
And, finally, there is a chance that Barkley truly has begun to heal, is feeling better and does have a chance, even if it’s a small chance.
For most players, that third option would probably be the safest bet.
There is also this scenario to consider: After Thursday, the Giants don’t play against for 11 days, on a Monday night against the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. Barkley could still return quicker than the three-game absence that was reported by Adam Schefter.
Asked about those 11 days, Daboll said “I think it all factors in.”
Besides Breida, the depth at running back also includes Gary Brightwell and rookie Eric Gray.
“I’d say the three guys that we have behind Saquon, they are all here for a reason,” Daboll said. “We are comfortable with all those guys, whether that’s in the run or pass game. Certainly, there are things that we could all improve on, but they are all here for a reason.”
Daboll seems particularly comfortable with Breida.
“I mean he’s a pro,” Daboll said. “He knows what to do, he knows how to do it, he’s done it for a while. He’s got speed, he’s got some quickness about him. He’s had some productive years as a runner, he was at San Francisco. He’s just a pro and he knows our system well and we have confidence in him.”
Breida said he and Barkley talk every day, and that dialogue has continued this week.
“Me and him got each other’s back, you know what I mean?,” Breida said. “The whole season, we’ve got each other’s back, just like [running back] Gary [Brightwell] does and [running back] Eric [Gray] does. Whenever he needs a break, we go in. It’s one of those things where I feel like we’ve got a great running back room and whoever is out there is going to do a good job.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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