New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is carted to the locker room after suffering a knee injury in September 2020. Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

NORTH CALDWELL, N.J. — Coming off an ACL injury that cost him most of last season, Saquon Barkley either doesn’t know or isn’t saying how much he will be able to do when the New York Giants report to training camp next week.

Speaking during a break at a youth football camp Monday, Barkley said he is continuing to rehabilitate his right knee and he is taking things day by day. The 24-year-old running back added he has not spoken with coach Joe Judge about how the team plans for him in training camp.

Players report to camp in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 27. Practice starts the next day.

The 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year smiled when asked if he knew more than he was saying.

“I guess that’s the theme of the summer, when would I be back?,” Barkley said “I don’t have an answer, to be honest. I’m not trying to lead up to it, but I don’t have an answer. It’s a fun process (rehab), but it’s a tough process at the same time. So I’m listening to my body, the trainers, the coaches and taking it day by day.”

Barkley, hurt against the Bears in the second game of the season, interacted with the young players at the ProCamps event, throwing and catching passes, and even doing a little running.

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A 1,000-yard rusher in each of his first two seasons, Barkley said his knee feels pretty good. He seemed to move well on the field, adding he liked being a “kid at heart” with the youngsters and got a boost of energy being with them.

Most professional teams don’t let athletes coming off major injuries do much at the start of camp. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft has not played in a game since Sept. 20 and he did not take part in the Giants’ voluntary offseason training activities or the mandatory minicamp last month.

For his own safety, Barkley does not want to get back on the field until he can go 100%, which he insists is the way he plays football.

CHIEFS: Kansas City fans will have to get tickets in advance to visit the Super Bowl runner-up’s training camp this year, and they won’t be able to get autographs from players because of COVID-19.

Dr. Paul Schroeppel, the AFC champions’ head orthopedic surgeon, said Monday that fans won’t be allowed to interact with players under the NFL’s protocols for preventing coronavirus outbreaks. He discussed the rules during a daily webcast by the University of Kansas Health System.

The Chiefs open their training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, on July 28 with a special event for season ticket holders, with practices open to other fans July 29, with attendance limited.

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Missouri has seen a surge in new COVID-19 cases because of the faster-spreading delta variant.

TELEVISION: ESPN has finally landed Peyton Manning as a “Monday Night Football” commentator. It’s just not in a way anyone expected, and it won’t be for the full season.

Walt Disney Company announced a partnership with Manning and his Omaha Productions company in which Peyton and Eli Manning will be part of a “Monday Night Football” MegaCast for 10 games a year the next three seasons.

Manning, who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame next month, has long been rumored as a “Monday Night Football” commentator since he retired after the 2015 season, but the sides were never able to reach an agreement. Now fans will be able to get his views, albeit in a different format and with his brother, who retired after the 2019 season after leading the New York Giants to two Super Bowl championships.

The Manning’s MegaCast will debut the first three weeks of this season, including the Sept. 13 opener between the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders, with the remaining seven weeks to be announced. It will air on ESPN2 and be streamed on ESPN+ while the standard broadcast will be on ESPN and/or ABC.hips. I think that kind of outweighs any monetary things.”

RAIDERS: Team president Marc Badain has resigned just before the start of training camp after helping orchestrate the team’s move to Las Vegas.

Owner Mark Davis announced Badain is leaving the organization and that executive vice president and general counsel Dan Ventrelle will take over on an interim basis.

Badain went from being a ball boy for the team to a 30-year career with the organization. He eventually became the chief financial officer for the team and was an assistant to former CEO Amy Trask.


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