Will Saquon Barkley be healthy and ready for Week 1? That is currently the biggest question hovering above the collective head of the New York Giants -- outside of what in the world just happened with Kelvin Benjamin? -- and it doesn't look like the answer is in the affirmative for the team's star halfback. Barkley still has several weeks before the Giants square off against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 12, but he remains on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list as the calendar readies to turn to August. And with that, the team is preparing an insurance policy that looks awfully familiar -- namely veteran running back Alfred Morris.
Morris will reportedly meet with the team this week and is expected to sign after, the team annouced, in a move that would reunite the two-time Pro Bowler with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett for what will be their fourth stretch together in the NFL.
Morris joined the Cowboys in 2016 when Garrett was the head coach in Dallas and again for a short stay in 2019 as holdout insurance for Ezekiel Elliott, but Elliott received his new contract before the season began and Morris was released. In the offseason to follow, Garrett and the Cowboys parted ways and he found himself coordinating the offense for newly-hired Giants head coach Joe Judge, and Morris joined him in 2020 to help with the loss of Barkley to a season-ending torn ACL.
The 32-year-old didn't log any starts last season, but was available in nine games and delivered 257 yards from scrimmage along with two touchdowns behind standout Wayne Gallman. With Gallman having taken his talents to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency and an unsettled list of backup RBs to sort through in New York, both Garrett and Judge are apparently looking to use Morris as a security blanket for a second consecutive season.