The New York Giants lost more than a player when rookie running back Cam Skattebo suffered his gruesome ankle injury.
They lost one of the most exciting players to wear a Giants’ uniform in years, as well as a player who seemed to be his quarterback’s soulmate. The Giants still went on to put up points and come away with a bunch of near-wins, but it just wasn’t the same.
The duo of Skattebo and Jaxson Dart had taken the league by storm, but now Skattebo has to focus on getting back on the field and help his team execute a turnaround in 2026.
His recovery from his ankle injury
It seemed as though Skattebo’s season ended almost before it began, when he suffered a devastating ankle injury in the Giants’ Week 7 rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Perhaps predictably, Skattebo told reporters that the gruesome injury wasn’t too bad in the moment.
“I saw it,” he said, “and 30 seconds later it was straight again, so it wasn’t too bad.”
He added that he even tried to walk off the field despite the broken bone and ugly dislocation.
“As you guys can tell, I was trying to get back up and walk off the field,” he said. “In the moment, I didn’t really feel it until I got into the X-ray room and by then it was back in place. Obviously it was still broken, but it didn’t feel too bad until, probably, after surgery.”
Now, however, the focus is on getting back onto the field. Skattebo noted that he’s on schedule, but also not rushing his recovery. He told reporters that he wants to get for OTA’s in the beginning of April, but the ultimate goal is to be fully back by training camp. Until then, he’s making progress.
“I got about another week until I start moving around and upping my speed a little bit,” he said. “Time’s going to tell, take it easy because I got plenty of time to get back to it.”
When asked to detail his rehab, Skattebo said that right now they’re concentrating on rebuilding the strength and mobility in his ankle. But ultimately, the worst part of his injury was not being able to help his teammates.
“It sucked,” he said. ““You can’t be out there to help. When you can’t do something to make sure your team is in a better position to win or you can’t contribute at all other than having the energy on the sidelines and making sure the guys in the building have a positive mindset, it’s hard to be in that situation. But I tried to take it as best as I could.“
Skattebo said he will be back to full health.
“That’s not even a question. I’m going to be back,” Skattebo said. “I played seven games in the NFL and I got hurt. There’s a long road ahead and that is not going to stop me.”
Turning the franchise around
The Giants got good play from Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary after Skattebo’s injury, and the former became the only skill position player from the 2024 draft class to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
However, the offense’s energy simply wasn’t the same without Skattebo on the field.
Once he’s back, however, Skattebo is excited to help the Giants turn around and become the winning franchise they could have been this year.
“This place is special,” he said. “They’re doing a good job drafting, and I’m excited for the upcoming draft and see who stays around. I’m excited to build something here. It doesn’t matter who’s in this building, we have our quarterback, so I’m excited for that. We build the pieces around him to be successful and I’m juiced to see what this franchise can be within the next five years.”
Skattebo wouldn’t comment on what he wants to see from the Giants’ next head coach, instead saying that the players themselves need step up.
“No matter who the coach is, the players need to step it up,” he said. “We have to lead by example for each other. Even Coach Kafka just touched on it, we gotta step up to each other. Show that we care and have those hard conversations with each other with the coaches out of the building, even in OTAs. That’s something that we have to do as a team to make sure that this team can excel. Because if you can’t have those hard conversations, you’ll never get through those hard battles when the games come around.”
Skattebo is confident that the Giants can turn their fortunes around, and do so quickly. In fact, the idea that a turnaround is even a question is almost insulting.
“It’s not even a question,” he said. “[A turnaround is] for sure close. I think next year is going to be a big difference from what was produced this year.”
I think this off-season is going to be huge, especially us as rookies. Jaxson [Dart] being a rookie quarterback, it’s hard to lead a team full of vets. Vets look at rookies as rookies, so you have to fight through that. If you are a true leader and you fight through that for your rookie year, things start to change when you’re a leader and you can start to step up and take the role you’re supposed to.“
Skattebo has nothing but faith in his quarterback.
“He’s going to be just fine,” Skattebo said. “He does everything right, he prepares well, and he makes sure everything he does is the right thing. I’m excited for his future and what he has in store.”
For his part, Skattebo thinks going viral for his demeanor on — and off — the field was fun. But he also thinks that it doesn’t mean much without success.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve kinda been the “Rah-rah” because I’m loud and obnoxious. But, we still went 4-13. So if you’re the face of the franchise and you’re not a good franchise, there’s still an issue and it’s not that big of a deal.“
That said, he seems pretty confident that success is coming soon.
“If I’m the face of the franchise and we’re winning the Super Bowl? Then, you can ask me that question in a year or two.”
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