Former Arizona State star running back Cam Skattebo said he thought about walking away from the NFL a month after suffering a serious leg injury during his rookie season last year with the New York Giants.
“Yeah, definitely," Skattebo said during an appearance on the “Up and Adams” podcast with Kay Adams that aired on Thursday, Sept. 3.
"I would probably say a month in, like the first month was kind of like, ‘Damn, do I really want to do this?'”
Skattebo told Adams earlier during the podcast that he had decided on that contingency plan once he left the Sun Devils and joined the Giants as a fourth-round draft pick.
“Coming out of college, going into the NFL, I think I gave myself one rule,” Skattebo said. “It was if I ever got a major injury, I was done
playing. And that happened seven games into my career, so it kind of sucked.”
Skattebo gained 617 yards from scrimmage and scored seven touchdowns before his season ended during a Week 8 game against the Philadelphia Eagles because of a dislocated ankle, broken fibula and tibia and a ligament tear.
The time he spent alone following surgery, he said, gave him time to reflect and think about his future.
“I think that (time) really helped me find out who I am as a player and as a person,” Skattebo told Adams. “I was able to sit at home for 14 hours a day, do absolutely nothing for weeks on end, so (it was about) just finding who I was, finding my happiness, finding the person I wanted to be on and off the field.
“That’s something I built over the last nine, 10 months and being able to now focus back on football. I’ve had lots of talks with family and friends that, ‘Hey look, it’s football time now.’ All my outside stress was from football (and) that kind of (went) 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.”
Although he acknowledged that he contemplated early retirement, Skattebo said there came a point during his rehab and recovery where he changed his mind.
“It was seven games,” he said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to go back and play.’ … It was the end of the year and I was like, ‘OK, I’m over this’ and I didn’t feel that way at all. … I think that gave me an extra step of digging that deep place and coming out of a hole that I didn’t know I could come out of, so I’m appreciative of it, and I’m excited to see what I can build off of it.”
Skattebo also discussed comments made by Giants coach John Harbaugh about Skattebo’s “infectious” energy after the running back’s recent dust-up during preseason practice with a couple of defensive teammates. Harbaugh then clarified his thoughts about Skattebo being infectious, saying: “Infectious in a bad way. Like an infectious disease type of thing. You don't want that. You want it to be directed in a positive way.”
There are no hard feelings between coach and player, according to Skattebo.
“Me and Harbs are on the same page. We love each other. We’re awesome,” Skattebo said, adding, “We didn’t even really talk about it. We kind of moved on from it and I don’t think it was anything that was a big deal.
“It was a couple teammates competing at a high level and getting a little frustrated with each other and getting into a scuffle. I don’t think it was anything that (big), but he wants us to realize that 15 yards is 15 yards, whether it’s in the game or in practice, so we’ve got to take every day serious.”
Skattebo and the Giants open the 2026 regular season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Sept. 13. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football star, New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo considered retirement
