Saquon Barkley dealing with high-ankle sprain

Update, Sept. 21 — Barkley supposedly had the lowest grade sprain ever imagined by medical science, but he told Taylor Rooks that he indeed had a high-ankle sprain. He downplayed the severity, but this injury appears at least a little worse than what the team wanted people to believe.

Update, Sept. 20 — Barkley has been ruled out for Thursday night’s game against the 49ers. There never was much doubt, but head coach Brian Daboll tried to seed some doubt yesterday. He failed. Matt Breida should get the start in Barkley’s place.

Update, Sept. 19, PM — The Giants returned to practice on Tuesday and Barkley was a DNP for a second straight day, per Dan Salomone. The team is primarily conducting walkthroughs, but it is still a relevant estimation. Daboll will likely list him as questionable on Wednesday, but it seems unlikely he plays on Thursday.

Update, Sept. 19 — Giants head coach Brian Daboll talked to reporters head of TNF vs. the 49ers. He wouldn’t rule out Barkley for the game. We can expect the RB to have some sort of designation and it could be a game-time decision situation. This all could be a smoke screen as well. It feels like it would be foolish to roll Barkley out there on a short week after this type of injury, especially given his history.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley will miss the next three weeks due to a right ankle sprain, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The star running back suffered the injury during the team’s final drive of the team’s 31-28 come-from-behind victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and had to be helped off the field.

It was highly unlikely that he’d suit up for their Thursday night road matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in just a few short days. Now it appears that the earliest he could possibly return is their Week 6 road matchup at the Buffalo Bills on October 15.

Fantasy football implications for Week 3

With Barkley sidelined, backup running back Matt Breida will step in to fill the role. The veteran has seen very little action through the first two games of the 2023 season, recording just three carries for 14 rushing yards. Third-string running back Gary Brightwell has also barely seen the field, recording a single carry for five rushing yards and two receptions for six receiving yards.

With what we’ve seen, both men won’t be viable fantasy football options for their Thursday night matchup and Barkley managers should look elsewhere for running back help.