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— Saquon Barkley got an incredulous look on his face when asked if he was hoping to play in the New York Giants‘ preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.

Hoping was not an option as far as the second overall pick in the NFL draft was concerned. The halfback from Penn State wants to play Derrick Shelby Jersey , even though the Giants cut back his workload last week, leaving many to wonder if he was a little dinged after 10 days of training camp.

Coach Pat Shurmur put the injury speculation to rest when talking to the media on Monday. He said Barkley is physically fine and the team is just managing his workload.

It seemed odd, though, on Saturday when the Giants didn’t give Barkley a snap after limiting his carries a day earlier.

Shurmur downplayed it, saying the rookie has been getting plenty of work in drills not open to the media.

Barkley believes he is ready. He has worked hard, picked the brains of quarterback Eli Manning and veteran running back Jonathan Stewart, gotten to know his linemen and seems to have grasped the offense as well as can be expected for a newcomer.

Shurmur said the 21-year-old is making mistakes but learning from every one.

“Hoping? I plan to play,” Barkley said Monday. “That’s like I don’t know; I haven’t experienced an NFL preseason game yet, but I think that hoping would be like, I am hoping I am good to go for that game. I am more than capable to playing now. I am just happy inside to play in my first NFL game. Hopefully I can maximize every rep.”

Barkley said he never had this much time to take care of his body in college. He noted that in his final season at Penn State he had to juggle training camp with taking finals from summer school classes.

Being hit for the first time in the NFL is something Barkley wants to happen.

“The first hit is something that knocks everything out, whereever your nerve is Craig Mager Jersey , you are overthinking stuff. It definitely helps.”

Barkley isn’t looking to gain a specific amount of yards or touchdowns. He wants to maximize every chance he gets and to have no missed assignments.

Manning said the best advice he has given Barkley is to take what the defense is giving on each play and realize you are not going to score on every play.

“Understand that expectations are going to be high, and don’t worry about that,” Manning said. “That’s what you have a team for and you have a job to do. Take what they give you and when the opportunity comes and there is a hole and you get to the safety, that’s your opportunity to make a guy miss and make something special happen.”

Defensive coordinator James Bettcher said Barkley has been a good test for his defense.

“There’s no question,” he said. “I dealt with a guy of that nature and we’ve talked about it here at this stand before is (David Johnson), an Arizona guy that can split out and try to create mismatches, a guy that can run the ball extremely well between the tackles, and coordinators are going to have a fun time figuring out how they’re going to get their matchups right.”

Shurmur said he was still working on how much everyone will play Thursday at MetLife Stadium. He said he wants to see his whole roster since performance in games carries more weight than training camp in determining the 53-man roster.

All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald is not attending the Los Angeles Rams' mandatory minicamp while he continues his lengthy quest for a lucrative new contract.

Donald wasn't on the field with his teammates for the Rams' first minicamp workout Tuesday, and he wasn't at their training complex for their off-field commitments Monday, either. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year also skipped the Rams' voluntary workout program over the previous two months.

"He's in a good place," Rams coach Sean McVay said Tuesday. "Would we want him to be here? Yeah Reggie White Jersey , we'd love to have Aaron here. But it's kind of the same where it's been. We're just focusing on the guys that are here, but we're always in constant dialogue with Aaron and his group, and would like to come to a solution. When that's going to happen, it's hard to say."

Donald is home in Pittsburgh during the Rams' offseason work for the second straight year, but he reported to last season's mandatory minicamp to avoid a potential fine. This year, Donald doesn't appear to be concerned about losing money by missing minicamp while he strives to become one of the NFL's highest-paid players.

The defending NFC West champion Rams haven't indicated whether they intend to fine Donald for missing the camp, but his absence wasn't a surprise. The team could fine him more than $84,000 for missing this camp, but it waived much larger fines incurred by Donald last year when he skipped the entirety of training camp.

"When I spoke with him last week, I said, 'If there's not a solution to this by next week Jerry Hughes Jersey , will you be here?'" McVay said. "He said, 'I'm going to stay back at home, continue training.'"

Donald is due to make nearly $6.9 million this season in the fifth year of his rookie contract. The team agrees he deserves a raise after turning in four dominant seasons as the cornerstone of the Rams' defense, yet the Rams and Donald's representatives still haven't made a deal after many months of talking.

The 27-year-old Donald doesn't have extensive leverage in the negotiation because the Rams theoretically could keep him for another three seasons through 2021 under a franchise tag. Neither side has disclosed their contract proposals, but Donald is widely thought to be seeking a contract big enough to make him one of the top-paid players at any position, with a salary comparable to the wages of the NFL's better quarterbacks.

The Rams have managed to maintain a positive relationship with Donald even after he skipped training camp and the entire preseason schedule last summer. He reported to the team shortly before the regular season began, missing the first game.

The four-time Pro Bowl selection also skipped most of the Rams' offseason program and organized team activities last year. Although he showed up for last season's mandatory minicamp, he didn't participate in the team drills, instead doing individual work and staying on the sidelines.

Donald is expected to be the foundation of a standout defensive line alongside Rams newcomer Ndamukong Suh, who agreed to a one-year, $14 million deal in the offseason.

Donald is missing several weeks of work with the Rams' revamped defense Dorian O'Daniel Jersey , which also added star cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters while losing three veteran leaders: Trumaine Johnson, Robert Quinn and captain Alec Ogletree.

The new Rams don't seem worried about missing these chances to build chemistry while establishing new leaders in the locker room.

"He's the MVP, so we know what he's going to do when he gets here," Talib said. "Everybody is just going to be themselves. If you're a leader, it's going to happen naturally. Nobody has to go out of their way to be a leader, go out of their way to hoorah and just yell stuff out. Everybody will just be themselves."

NOTES: Donald is the only player unaccounted for at minicamp, McVay confirmed. ... McVay is canceling Thursday's scheduled practice and taking his team on a tour of the franchise's under-construction stadium in Inglewood, California. The Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers will open the multibillion-dollar Hollywood Park stadium complex in 2020.

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