Some things seemed like a given after Saquon Barkley was named 2018 NFL Offensive Rook🍬ie of the Yeꦛar.
An annual spot in the Pro Bowl, for starters.
But Barkley was not selected this week when the voting by ��players, fans and coaches was tabulated. He is a fourth alternate who could be invited later based on need create💙d by injury and the NFC’s Super Bowl representative.
The Giants and Dolphins🃏 were the only teams with no players selected. Giants punter Riley Dixon is a seco♚nd alternate.
“The Pro Bowl i🅰s dope,” Barkley said. “I went there last year. It’s an awesome experience. It’s not the end-all be-all. I don’t think that I was even anywhere close or deserved to being in the Pro Bowl. Not shocked at that.”
With two gaꦏmes to go (after missing three with a high ankle sprain), Barkley has rushed 178 times for 722 yards, or🐻 4.1 yards per carry. That’s down from his average of 5.0 yards last season. He has five touchdowns, down from 15 last season.
The 22-year-old running back 🅷said he doesn’t feel snubbed by not making the Pro Bowl, and that he doesn’t need a perceived snub for motivation when the Giants are 8-21 since his arrival.
“What motivates me is that we’re going home in two weeks,” Barkley said. “That’s the only motivation that I 🦋have. We’re not in the playoff run. We’re not having the chance of the playoffs. That’s going to be my motivation this offseason.”
Barkley broke a streak of eight straight games with fewer than 100 rushing yards last week in a win against the Dolphins. He was especially excited by a cut to force a missed tackle because it showed the restored health of his ank💃le.
“Yeah, I made a good little move there. You can feel it, but when you actually go back and see it, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a nice cut,’ ” Barkley said. “The cornerback, he made some good plays on me, too. … That’s the beauty of football. That’s my job: I’ve got to make thos♔e one-on-ones happen more often than not.”
Antoine Bethea missed a second straight practice after he returne🌺d home to be with his wife for the birth of a child. Cornerback Antonio Hamilton also missed practice for perso💦nal reasons. … OG Kevin Zeitler (ankle) remains limited and TE Rhett Ellison (concussion) was limited after full participation Wednesday.
Daniel Jones showed no ill effects of his first full practice returning from two games missed with a high ankle sprain. He took the first-team reps at quarterback and is going to start against the Redskins, barring the unforeseen.
“He feels good,” coach Pat Shurmur said, “so we’ll just try to🍨 ramp him up aꦬnd keep him going.”
The special panel picking the Hall of Fame class of 2020 selected former Giants general manage💧r George Young and former Giants coach Dan Reeves as finalists for the cl♕ass honoring the 100th anniversary of the NFL Honorees will be named on Jan. 8.
Giants rookies have played the most snaps in the NFL this season.🐼 The next to debut could be undrafted receiver David Sills, who was🌼 added to the 53-man roster this week.
“We’ll see what he can do,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “He’s a talen꧑ted kid. Just his tenacity. He’s long, he can run, and🦩 he plays extremely hard. And it’s everything that you want to see in a young guy.”
For more on the Giants, listen to the latest episode of the “Blue Rush” podcast: