Underdog Giants could be without Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas for vital Week 4 clash vs. Seahawks

Already inching toward must-win territory, the New York Giants will likely be without two of their most important members of the offense for Week 4’s Monday night meeting with the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. 

Running back Saquon Barkley remains doubtful after being a limited participant in practice throughout the week leading up to the primetime matchup. 

The 26-year-old star suffered a sprained ankle during the Giants’ dramatic Week 2 comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals that was initially expected to sideline him between two and three weeks. Yet head coach Brian Daboll has been slow to rule Barkley out in each of the last two weeks.

“I think he’s gotten progressively better and then it’s just a talk with Saquon, where he’s at, it’s a talk with the training staff,” Daboll said on Saturday. “I think everybody’s got to be on the same page and again never want to put a guy out there that’s not ready to go, but he has gotten better. I think there’s a chance, but we’ll see where it’s at.”

Barkley himself shared some optimism despite taking very few reps during team drills over the last week. 

“It’s tough,” Barkley added. “It’s one of those things that I think I’m doing way better than what other people would expect, especially talking to doctors. But it’s frustrating because I’m healing fast but you want it to be faster… Just taking it day by day.”

Left tackle Andrew Thomas, who injured his hamstring during the Giants’ Week 1 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, did not participate during Friday or Saturday’s practice and has already been labeled as out for Monday night against Seattle. 

While he was initially held out for Week 2 against the Cardinals in hopes of having him ready for the short turnaround and last week’s loss against the San Francisco 49ers, Thomas has been unable to get shake what’s been ailing him. Daboll added that he’s still “week to week.”

Josh Ezeudu will slot in once again at left tackle as the line will remain unchanged from the Week 3 loss in San Francisco.

“You want all your best players to be out there, that’s why we have the guys behind them,” Daboll said. “Have confidence in those guys. Obviously, no one is Andrew Thomas. We want Josh to be Josh and we’ve got to do a good job of coaching Josh and the rest of the guys. But, when you’re missing a good player, that’s the NFL. You’ve got to be ready to go with the next guy up.”

Seahawks vs. Giants Week 4 Monday Night Football odds

• Spread: Seahawks -2
• Over/Under: 47
• Seahawks Moneyline: -130
• Giants Moneyline: +110

Odds courtesy of DraftKings. For more, click here.

For more on the Giants, visit AMNY.com