Cam Skattebo’s second NFL season almost didn’t arrive.
The fan-favorite Giants running back revealed on “Up and Adams” on Thursday that he considered retirement in the days after a horrific leg injury ended his rookie year after just seven games.
“Yeah, definitely. The first month was kind of like, damn, do I really wanna do this?” he told host Kay Adams of thinking about calling it quits. “It was seven games, I was like, I got to go back and play. Yeah, there’s no shot. There’s no different story. No, it was the end of the year and I was like, OK, I’m over this, you know, and I didn’t feel that way at all.”
The gruesome injury came against the rival Eagles — his eighth career game — with Zack Baun’s tackle resulting in a dislocated right ankle and an open fracture of the right tibia for Skattebo.
The circumstances — and the lengthy recovery — made the hard-nosed rusher reconsider his one rule about football.
“Coming out of college, going to the NFL, I think I gave myself one rule and it was if I ever got a major injury, I was done playing,” he said.
“And that happened seven games into my career. So, it kind of sucked.”
It wasn’t all bad, as Skattebo was able to find some personal peace in what could have been darker times.
“I think that really helped me find who I am as a player and as a person,” he said. “I was able to sit at home for 14 hours a day, do absolutely nothing for weeks on end. So just finding who I was, finding my happiness, finding the person I wanted to be on and off the field. And I think, that’s something that I’ve built over the last nine, 10 months.”
A fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft, Skattebo quickly endeared himself to the Big Blue faithful with his lunch pail guy style and backflipping end zone celebrations.
He racked up 410 rushing yards and five touchdowns, adding 207 yards through the air on 24 receptions with and pair of TDs..
He enters the 2026 season as part of a remade — and crowded — Giants running backs room, having to fight for carries with Tyrone Tracy, Najee Harris, Devin Singletary and Patrick Ricard on new coach John Harbaugh’s first roster.
It’s a challenge he’s made himself ready for.
“Being able to now focus back on football, ” he said, “I’ve had lots of talks with family and friends that, hey, look, it’s football time now. And all my outside stressors from football kind of go away now, because I’ve been able to have those talks with people and allow myself to focus on one thing. So it’s been awesome.”
