New York Giants

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has an "outside chance" of playing next week versus the Kansas City Chiefs but is more likely to return for Week 9 versus the Las Vegas Raiders, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:

The 24-year-old was limited to two games in 2020 after suffering a torn right ACL. As his recovery dragged on throughout the offseason, his availability for the start of 2021 was up in the air.

Barkley was ultimately on the field for New York in its season opener versus the Denver Broncos, but it wasn't long before his health was once again a concern. He rolled his left ankle in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys and was carted back to the locker room:

Prior to the ankle injury, the Penn State product wasn't the same running back who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage as a rookie, either. Through his first four appearances, he had run for 186 yards and two touchdowns while catching 14 passes for 130 yards and one score.

The Giants have already picked up Barkley's $7.2 million option for 2022, but his future beyond that looks a bit cloudy. In the short term, the 1-5 Giants will turn to Devontae Booker versus the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

New York Giants (and ex-Carolina Panthers) kicker Graham Gano told Dan Duggan of The Athletic that Panthers doctors and trainers misdiagnosed an injury that cost him the entire 2019 season.

Gano told Duggan he fractured his femur just above his left knee. However, the 34-year-old said that Panthers medical staffers initially said he had suffered less severe injuries.

"I was told initially it was tendinitis and a bone bruise and it was actually a lot more than that, which we knew for a while," Gano said. "I was treating it and I came back and had the same injury—actually worse than before. It was a mess. It’s frustrating. But at the same time I try to look at things positively. If that wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t be here."

Gano kicked one game on the injured leg in 2018 before going on injured reserve and missing the final four games of the season.

Heading into 2019, Gano said he was told the same story about his injury.

"I went into training camp the next year, they were telling me it was fine," Gano said. "I reinjured it. They were telling me it was still fine. Obviously, it was not. So I had the surgery, and it went from them telling me there was nothing wrong with my leg to I need a major surgery. So that was a quick flip."

Per Duggan, Gano underwent surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and missed the entire 2019 season. Carolina released Gano in July 2020, and he signed with the Giants one month later.

Gano has been excellent for Big Blue, knocking home 31-of-32 field goals in 2020 and another 12-of-14 this year.

His Giants accolades include a 48-yarder with 31 seconds remaining in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints, which helped New York eventually earn a 27-21 overtime win. He's also thrived from long range by making 9-of-11 field goals from 50 yards or longer since 2020.

Gano has been in the NFL since 2009, which kickstarted a three-year stint as the Washington Football Team's kicker. He joined the Panthers in 2012.

The ex-Florida State star will face Carolina on Sunday when the Giants host the Panthers at 1 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is taking accountability for the team's 1-5 start to the 2021 NFL season.

"I'm the head coach. It's my responsibility, point blank," he told reporters Thursday. "Every player on this field, every position group, the execution, it all comes down to me. The fish stinks from the head down."

Putting everything on Judge would be unfair.

The Giants have been without a number of key players on offense for multiple games. Nothing better symbolized the situation than Kadarius Toney enjoying a breakout season and almost immediately picking up an ankle injury.

It's not really Judge's fault that Daniel Jones appears to be miscast as a franchise quarterback, either. Through six games, Jones has thrown for 1,524 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, while his completion percentage (62.5) is equal to its 2020 counterpart.

But Judge hasn't built up the kind of equity that provides him with the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this.

If anything, New York's current stretch only magnifies the significant level of skepticism surrounding the 39-year-old when he first took the gig. He was a special teams coach for the majority of his time with the New England Patriots and didn't have any high-level experience as a coordinator.

Although it's probably too early to say Judge's job is in jeopardy, Giants co-owner John Mara said everybody was effectively on the hot seat coming into the year. The franchise handed out $124.6 million in guaranteed money, third-most in the league, per Over the Cap.

That kind of investment signals a desire to reach the playoffs, and the G-Men are on track to fall well short of that goal.

The New York Giants confirmed Kadarius Toney won't return to Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams after aggravating an ankle injury.

The rookie wide receiver had three catches for 36 yards before exiting. His absence exacerbates a tough situation for New York's offense.

Toney's availability was up in the air throughout the week. He was limited in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and the Giants listed him as questionable in their injury report.

His hot start Sunday followed a pair of strong performances in New York's last two games. He caught 16 passes for 267 yards between Weeks 4 and 5.

It might be easier to list off the Giants' skill position players who aren't injured rather than running down those who are carrying an injury at the moment.

In addition to Toney, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton were limited in practice because of hamstring problems. Shepard was deemed good enough to go in Week 6, but Slayton missed his third straight game.

Saquon Barkley (ankle) and Kenny Golladay (knee) were ruled out altogether in advance of Sunday's contest.

In what might be a pivotal year for Daniel Jones in the Big Apple, the Giants quarterback has shown some improvement. Through the first five games, he threw for 1,282 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

Looking at the current state of New York's receiving corps, though, it might be tough sledding for Jones.

The New York Giants reportedly have no plans to bench rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney after he was ejected from Week 5's game against the Dallas Cowboys for throwing a punch.

According to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, the situation was handled "in-house" and there will be no additional discipline in the form of lost playing time.

Toney, who was the No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, enjoyed a breakout game before his ejection, recording 10 receptions for 189 yards.

New York was without two of its top wideouts against Dallas in Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. No. 1 receiver Kenny Golladay left early with a knee injury as well.

The Giants also lost running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones to injuries during the game, leaving Toney as one of the last skill-position players standing.

Jones has recovered from his concussion and will start Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, but both Golladay and Barkley are out. Meanwhile, Shepard will be back in the lineup.

With Golladay missing Sunday's game, Toney could be in for another huge performance, especially if he avoids coverage from Rams shutdown cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Over the first three games of the season, Toney had just four receptions for 14 yards. The past two weeks have been a different story, though, as he emerged with six grabs for 78 yards in a Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Toney entered Week 6 questionable with an ankle problem, but he is active for the game and all signs point toward him making a big impact.

While the speedster has started only one of the team's first five games, he may well get the start against L.A. with Golladay on the shelf.

There is a good chance that the 1-4 Giants will be playing from behind against the 4-1 Rams, meaning Toney should have every opportunity to turn in a productive outing.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is trending toward being able to start Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams.

According to SNY's Ralph Vacchiano, Giants head coach Joe Judge said Friday that it "appears" Jones is in line to start after practicing in full, although he still must get cleared by a team and independent doctor.

The 24-year-old was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a hit to the helmet in the second quarter of the Week 5 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. He was carted to the locker room and ruled out for the rest of the game.

Jones is in a pivotal year, as the Giants can exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract next offseason. Through five games, he has completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,282 yards with four touchdowns and one interception to go along with 197 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while New York is 1-4 with him as the starter this season.

Despite the rough start to the year, the Duke product entered the Cowboys game ranked eighth in the NFL in passing yards with a 66.2 completion percentage.

After being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Jones has failed to live up to expectations. He has struggled with turnovers throughout his career, leading the NFL with 18 fumbles as a rookie and losing 11 of them. He also threw 22 total interceptions in his first two seasons.

Despite his issues, the Giants are undoubtedly best off with Jones as their starting quarterback against L.A., especially with running back Saquon Barkley likely to miss Sunday's game with an ankle injury.

If Jones does not get cleared to play, however, the Giants will go with veteran Mike Glennon as their starting quarterback against the Rams.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley avoided a serious ankle injury in Sunday's 44-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. However, that doesn't mean he's any less upset about the ailment.

The 24-year-old told reporters Thursday he's frustrated about the ailment because he felt he was rounding into form since returning from a torn ACL.

Barkley suffered the ankle injury during the first quarter of Sunday's game when he stepped on the foot of Dallas cornerback Jourdan Lewis on a throw from Daniel Jones. He was taken off the field and soon ruled out for the remainder of the contest. 

The Penn State product is reportedly believed to have a low ankle sprain is considered week-to-week, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Like much of the Big Blue offense, Barkley has underperformed this season, recording 54 carries for 195 yards and two touchdowns in five games. He has also caught 14 passes for 130 yards and a score on 20 targets. 

However, Barkley was just heating up before going down. He had his best game of the season in a Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints, recording 126 total yards (52 rushing, 74 receiving) and two total touchdowns. He had 94 total yards in Week 3.

The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year has struggled with injuries since posting 1,000-plus rushing yards in each of his first two seasons. In Week 2 of the 2020 campaign, he suffered a torn ACL and missed the remainder of the season. 

There was also speculation Barkley wasn't fully healthy during New York's Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos. Former Giants running back Tiki Barber said on WFAN (h/t NJ.com) that the star running back "didn't look right."

"You could see him at some points in the game, he's limping around, not having real confidence in that knee," Barber said. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's fatigued. He hasn't run like that in a while now."

The Giants picked up Barkley's fifth-year option, and he's scheduled to become a free agent after the 2022 campaign. If he continues to struggle with injuries, it's unclear what his market will look like.  

New York Giants tight end Evan Engram confirmed that safety Jayron Kearse punched him after Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Kearse punched Engram's face when the two teams were shaking hands on the field. 

“I was pushing him around the whole game, so he was probably just mad about that,” Engram told Leonard. “It’s whatever."

Leonard did note that a league spokesman said NFL Films could find no evidence from the tape of an incident between Engram and Kearse. 

"I walked up on him. He walked up on me kinda, saying some stuff. He threw the punch," Engram said about the lead-up to the confrontation. "We had some guys there that separated us, so it was kind of boom, boom."

The altercation between Engram and Kearse flew under the radar in part because Kadarius Toney provided fireworks during the game. 

The Giants rookie was ejected in the fourth quarter for throwing a punch at Cowboys cornerback Damontae Kazee. Their altercation came after a brief skirmish when Kazee appeared to toss Toney to the ground after the referees whistled the play over. 

Toney took to Twitter on Monday to issue an apology:

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Toney will likely be fined but not suspended. The 22-year-old had a breakout game with 10 receptions and 189 yards in the 44-20 loss. 

Engram had his best performance of the season in Week 5. The Ole Miss alum caught all four of his targets for 55 yards. 

The Giants will host the Cowboys on Dec. 19 in a rematch.