Barkley Returns To Practice, But Is Limited; Giants' Backup QB Competition Remains Red Hot

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — First-round draft pick Saquon Barkley ran on his own as the New York Giants returned to practice.

The former Penn State running back drafted No. 2 overall carried a ball and ran at roughly three-quarter speed Sunday as strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman watched.

Barkley strained a hamstring catching a pass out of the backfield at practice last Monday. He did not participate in the workouts held jointly in Allen Park, Michigan, between the Giants and Detroit Lions. He also did not play in Friday's preseason game.

Coach Pat Shurmur continues to say Barkley will be handled on a day-to-day basis.

Jonathan Stewart and Wayne Gallman took the majority of first-team snaps during the practice that lasted roughly an hour.

While the injury is not going to change Barkley's role as the starting halfback, a hamstring problem that has sidelined third-year safety Darian Thompson is creating a three-man competition for the spot opposite Landon Collins.

Curtis Riley, who played the past two seasons in Tennessee, and Andrew Adams, who has had 17 starts in the past two seasons, are competing for the job for Thompson, who also has 17 starts in two seasons.

Riley was considered the outsider coming into training camp, but he started against the Lions and continues to play with the first team.

"I bring a lot of range, I can tackle, speed, communication, which is the biggest thing, and just knowing the defense," said Riley, who missed the preseason opener against Cleveland Browns with a hamstring injury.

Thompson started against Cleveland and sustained his hamstring injury.

Riley, who appeared in seven games with the Titans, said Tennessee played a similar defense.

"It's about communication, knowing what you are supposed to do, knowing where to put other people," Riley said, adding the coaches will decide the starter. "You've got to make plays, the NFL is about making plays."

Shurmur said backup quarterbacks Davis Webb, Kyle Lauletta and Alex Tanney are making progress on a daily basis. He said he has not made a depth chart for the position beyond Eli Manning being the starter.

NOTES: CB Donte Deayon (hamstring) and WR Travis Rudolph (quad) returned to practice after missing a week with injuries "They've got to get back in there," Shurmur said. "Again, their health is a front burner deal for us. We want to make sure they're healthy before we put them out in an uncontrolled setting, So yeah, they've got to catch up. That's just the nature of being out." ... Shurmur said he has a game plan of sorts for the contest with the Jets on Friday night at MetLife Stadium. "We want to run plays that work. It's not like we're trying to save anything, so certainly we're going to try and do that a little bit."

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)