Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo is already back to backflipping nearly seven months after suffering a season-ending dislocated ankle injury that was described as an emergency medical situation involving an open dislocation.
When Cam Skattebo walked off the field after Week 9 last season, it wasn’t just the ankle that changed. It was the timeline—everything that was supposed to come next got forced into recovery.
Last October, the New York Giants rookie running back was still celebrating. In the Giants’ upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles. he scored three touchdowns and marked one of them with a backflip. Two weeks later. when the Eagles hosted the Giants. Skattebo suffered a season-ending dislocated ankle that was so severe it was described at the time as an “emergency medical situation because it involved an open dislocation.”.
Almost exactly seven months after that moment, Skattebo is back flipping.
The return has been turning up in glimpses from the offseason. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan posted videos on X from Giants edge rusher Brian Burns’ celebrity softball game. In the clips. Skattebo swings through a home run. strolls around the bases. and then performs his signature backflip at home plate—an unmistakable reminder of the player he was before the injury.
Skattebo’s presence at the Giants’ OTAs last week also added another layer to the story: he was suited up but not practicing. Dan Duggan of The Athletic reported Friday that Skattebo was “suited up but not practicing. ” and he was seen “getting coached up” by the Giants’ newly hired offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
That mix—motion on social media, involvement in team activities, and still no full practice reps—captures the push and pull of returning from something as serious as an open dislocation. It’s not the kind of recovery that looks linear, and the Giants have treated it carefully from the start.
Skattebo’s path to New York began with the 2025 NFL Draft. when the Giants selected him out of Arizona State in the fourth round (No. 105 overall). In college-to-pro transition. his production was immediate: he recorded 410 yards and five touchdowns on 101 rush attempts. and added 207 yards and two touchdowns on 24 receptions before his season ended in Week 9.
The offseason around him has been just as consequential for the franchise. The Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll after a 2-8 start. They finished the season with a 4-13 record. Around the same time. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was fired. and he quickly found a new home in New York. Harbaugh’s Ravens teams were known for their physicality and. often. run-first offensive identity—and with Harbaugh in place at the Meadowlands. Skattebo is expected to become a key piece in 2026.
For now. the Giants are working through a return that began with a gruesome injury and is now moving into something lighter—at least on the surface. A backflip after an open dislocation doesn’t erase the seriousness of what came before. But it does mark a milestone that feels earned. and it points toward a player trying to get his season back on his own terms.
New York Giants Cam Skattebo NFL ankle injury OTAs Brian Burns celebrity softball Matt Nagy John Harbaugh Brian Daboll 2025 NFL Draft