Saquon Barkley is planning on leaning on a former teammate in his rehab from a torn ACL. Giants fans may know this person.
Blonde hair, wears No. 13, was once considered a key piece of the team’s future. And, like Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr. is also going to be spending the offseason rehabbing a torn ACL.
“Only thing I do know that I have planned for sure, I’m definitely going to link up with [Odell],” Barkley told ESPN. “Obviously Odell tore his knee a little too. I think we both need just being there. We’re really good friends. Competing with each other and pushing each other will also be good too. That’s the only thing I know for certain I will do. Everything else is up in the air.”
Both players suffered major knee injuries and went under the knife around the same time. Barkley had right knee surgery on Oct. 30. Beckham had his operation, on his left knee, on Nov. 10.
Barkley has been rehabbing at the Giants’ practice facility in New Jersey, but at some point, he expects to fly out to Los Angeles and join Beckham.
“Every year we always link up with him at some point, somewhere. Definitely going to find a way to link up,” Barkley said. “Obviously I would love to, any of those guys that are going through this injury, whether it’s Joe [Burrow], [Devin] Bush, Bud [Dupree], there’re a couple guys, any guy, I think it would be really dope if we could all link up.”
The two played together for one season, before the Giants traded Beckham to the Browns. But that didn’t end their relationship. The two have remained friends and hope to help each other find their pre-injury form.
“We definitely talk, whether it is on the phone or playing ‘Call of Duty.’ Obviously probably played a little more of that than I would have liked to this year,” Barkley said. “But it was weird. I’m literally rehabbing. I remember I’m rehabbing. I’m looking up, and I’m watching. I see a clip, and I see Odell get hurt. That definitely hurt me.
“But obviously we both wouldn’t want to go through this, I guess you would say, but I think it’s very important that since we are really close and we know each other so well and we are two competitors and we think we can really help each other, I do think it’s important to really link up. But at the same time, we both have to come in with the mindset of getting 1% better each day. That’s what we have to get from each other. Any way you can get it.”
