Jonathan Stewart‘s season might not be over. The Giants designated the running back to return to practice, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
A foot injury landed Stewart on injured reserve in September and the Giants have been cautiously optimistic about getting him back on the field. The Giants have a three-week use-it-or-lose-it window to activate the veteran starting today. If he is not placed on the 53-man roster by Dec. 6, he will be barred from playing for the Giants this year.
Of course, the Giants aren’t playing for much at this juncture of the year. Even after their win against the 49ers, the G-Men are 2-7 and likely ticketed for another high draft pick.
Rookie Saquon Barkley continues to impress and Stewart didn’t see a whole lot of work before his injury, so it will be interesting to see how he’s used when/if he comes back. In nine games, Barkley has averaged 4.5 yards per carry while adding 62 catches for 530 yards and seven touchdowns in total. In Stewart’s three games before the injury, he logged six carries for 17 yards.
The Giants have Stewart under contract through next year, but they can save $2.625MM by releasing him with just $250K in dead money. This could be Stewart’s chance to cement his place on the Giants’ 2019 roster and avoid going through free agency as a 32-year-old running back.
Not really a big deal, but better if they hold onto him for the rest of the season unlike omamaeh so they can at least save that cap space money.
Stewart was just signed to be a veteran role model for Barkley. Bringing him back will help to give another big bruising back some carries to spell Barkley. Nothing more. He’ll be released after the season is over. No big deal.