New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo legitimately thought about hanging up his cleats after suffering a serious injury as a rookie.
Skattebo, 24, was having a promising rookie year with the G-Men before he went down with an open tibia fracture and ruptured deltoid ligament in his right ankle. During an interview with Kay Adams, the Arizona State admit that he thought about retiring after sustaining significant damage to his ankle.
“Coming out of college, going into the NFL, I think I gave myself one rule. And that was if I ever got a major injury, I was done playing,” Skattebo told Adams. “And that happened seven games into my career, so it kind of sucked. But I think that really helped me find who I am as a player and a person.”
Even though Skattebo told himself he’d stop playing after a major injury, his desire to return to the Giants was too strong to ignore.
“I would say probably a month in, like the first month, I was like, ‘Damn, do I really wanna do this?’ And then, it was seven games. I was like, ‘I gotta go back and play.’ There’s no shot. If it was the end of the year and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m over this.’ I didn’t feel that way at all. … I think that gave me an extra step of finding that deep place and coming out of a hole that I didn’t know I could come out of.”
Full steam ahead for the 2026 season.
Skattebo gave the Giants a spark in 2025, racking up 410 rushing yards, 207 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns in just eight games.
While he’s been a bit erratic at practice, Giants coach John Harbaugh is hopeful that Skattebo’s infectious energy will give the offense a boost come Week 1.
“Skatt’s great. He does bring a lot of energy,” Harbaugh said, via ProFootballTalk. “But he did get a 15-yard penalty at the end of practice. Did you notice that? That’s not infectious. Well, it is infectious, actually. Infectious in a bad way, right? Like infectious disease type of thing. We don’t want that. So, we want it to be directed in a positive way.”
The Giants begin their 2026 season next Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys.
