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Friday update: SHe will get another week to rest his ankle due to their bye and should be ready to go in Week 11. Devontae Booker will again be the lead back.
Friday AM update: Saquon Barkley is back at the Giants facility now that the false positive on his COVID-19 test has been confirmed, per Mike Garafolo. However, with the missed time, it seems less likely he will be playing this Sunday due to his ongoing ankle injury, as noted by Zack Rosenblatt.
Thursday update: The reporting on the positive COVID-19 tests for the Giants has been hard to follow, but it appears that Barkley did receive a false positive. In the end, his lack of practice while trying to recover from his ankle injury puts him on the wrong side of being able to play, but we’ll see.
So all of the positive COVID-19 tests aside from RB coach Burton Burns appear to be false positives. The Bio-Reference lab is experiencing an unusual amount of false positives. pic.twitter.com/eR4m1oPzqd
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) November 4, 2021
Wednesday PM update: Barkley has been placed on the COVID-19 list and did not have a negative test, which Adam Schefter’s tweet seemed to infer.
Notably, the Giants did not place G Matt Skura on Reserve/COVID-19, even though he missed practice earlier today due to COVID-19 protocols.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) November 3, 2021
The re-tests for Barkley and McKinney were both positive, per a source. https://t.co/So5JGiORRY
Wednesday update: Barkley was retested and found to not be positive for COVID-19, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This is great news for the team, but Barkley’s status is still up in the air due to his ankle injury and he likely needs another negative test within 24 hours.
In yet another high profile player testing positive for COVID-19, Saquon Barkley will enter protocol as we move toward Week 8 of the NFL season. Unlike Aaron Rodgers, Barkley is vaccinated, which gives him a chance to play this week, but the odds are likely slim.
The silver lining here might be that Barkley is recovering from an ankle injury and an extra week of rest wouldn’t be the end of the world. He did seem to be closing in on a return, but this news could easily derail him for this week, especially since he won’t be able to practice with the team.
Fantasy football implications
Devontae Booker has played well in his absence and would once again take over for Barkley if he can’t go. Last week against the Chiefs, Booker totaled 125 yards and has three touchdowns in the four games he’s been subbing in for Barkley. He remains a strong start if Barkley can’t play this week.