Cam Skattebo doesn’t need much runway to sound like himself again.
After three days of training camp, the New York Giants running back said, "I've felt 99.9 percent. I think the 100 percent is when I put shoulder pads on, and I'm able to hit someone," and that’s about as clear a sign as the Giants could ask for.
He’s close. Close enough that the only real milestone left is the one that matters most in football: getting hit, and hitting back.
That matters a lot for a New York offense that missed him badly last season. Skattebo’s rookie year ended in brutal fashion with a dislocated ankle and tibia fracture, just when he was turning into one of the team’s most electric pieces.
Before the injury, the 24-year-old was on a heater, entering Week 8 with five straight games of 90 or more all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. He wasn’t just a fan favorite.
He was becoming a real problem for defenses.
And he was doing it while the Giants were already scrambling.
Malik Nabers had gone down a month earlier with a torn ACL, leaving New York short on firepower and short on answers. When Skattebo joined him on the sideline a few weeks later, it only made the offense look thinner. The good news now is that both players seem to be moving in the right direction as Week 1 approaches.
Nabers had a planned day off Friday after back-to-back days of full-speed drills earlier in the week. Those workouts were the first time anyone had seen him in football action since the injury, and the details matter here: he’s cutting, and he’s coming in and out of routes without trouble. There’s still no timetable attached to his return, but that kind of movement is a positive sign.
For Skattebo, though, the update is even simpler. He sounds ready to keep climbing toward full strength, and that should be a major boost for a Giants team trying to dig out of the NFC East basement in Year 1 under John Harbaugh.
The fit is obvious. Harbaugh wants a run-heavy offense that can wear opponents down, and Skattebo is built for exactly that.
At 5-foot-11 and 219 pounds, he’s the hammer in a backfield that also includes Tyrone Tracy Jr., who brings the outside speed. Together, they give New York a thunder-and-lightning pairing that makes sense on paper and could matter a lot on Sundays.
Skattebo’s own words make the picture even clearer. The contact part is what he’s waiting for.
The shoulder pads are what get him to 100. So now the Giants just need to get him there.
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