Don’t play Saquon Barkley.

Pat Shurmur should have Barkley take a seat and wait for the regular-season opener against the Cowboys to play him.

Barkley is the straw that stirs the Giants’ drink.

The risk-reward isn’t worth taking him out of bubble wrap.

Better safe than sorry.

Keep him in mothballs.

He hasn’t played in the first two preseason games and there is no compelling reason why he should play Thursday night in Cincinnati.

Barkley’s indefatigable work ethic and relentless preparation enables him to be on the same page with his offensive linemen anyway.

For what it’s worth, even if Ezekiel Elliott ends his contract dispute, he will have taken zero preseason snaps even before the Sept. 8 opener.

Of course you can suffer an injury in practice, everyone knows that, but running backs aren’t viewed as an endangered species the way quarterbacks are in the NFL. Think there might be an angry linebacker fighting for a starting job or a spot on the roster eager to make a name for himself by taking down a star of Barkley’s magnitude?

Barkley, with his Mamba Mentality, would play the game in the parking lot if the stadium were unavailable.

“If I didn’t play in the preseason,” Barkley told The Post after practice Sunday, “I know I’ll be ready, because last year, I only really got to play four plays anyway.

“For me my mindset is to continue to be a pro. Even though I haven’t played in those first two games, I try to get as much reps and workload as I can so I can be ready for the first game of the season — not just the first game of the season, be ready for if I gotta carry the ball 10 times or I gotta carry the ball 25 times to help my team win and put us in position to win games.”

Barkley is a student of the game — his game and everyone else blocking for him, too.

“I think we’re on the same page,” Barkley said. “Obviously it’s a little different when you’re going live situation, but the same mindset I try to take with everything, be a pro about it and just try to take game situational reps, and if I don’t play for preseason, I’m ready to go Week 1.”

Shurmur has not tipped his hand whether he will play Barkley in the third preseason game. I asked him about the risk-reward of playing Barkley, and he said: “Anytime you put a player on the field, they’re exposed to injury.”

I told him that I don’t think he should play. Shurmur smiled. “I’ll let my view be revealed,” he said.

In the meantime, there is a backup running-back battle among Paul Perkins, Wayne Gallman and Rod Smith being waged. Perkins displayed good burst and straightaway speed against the Bears.

“I was working a lot on explosive movements in the offseason, getting some footwork stuff down,” he said.

Perkins spent last season on IR with a pectoral injury.

“It was tough,” he said. “It was a long road, but it was a blessing in disguise. I got to see my brother play at the University of Virginia, saw a lot of his games, and I got to see the game from a different perspective. And I got to cheer these guys on.”

It gave him a new Why.

“It just motivated me to go out there and when I got my opportunity I would really cherish it and then really play for God and play for my family and everybody,” Perkins said.

Play the backup RBs.

Don’t play Saquon Barkley.