The New York Giants will visit the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday in a crucial NFC East game. And while Big Blue initially looked banged up coming out of their bye, they listed just two players on the final injury report: Cam Skattebo and Charlie Jones.
Jones (hand) is expected to play, but the status of Skattebo is much more uncertain heading toward kickoff.
Meanwhile, the Eagles enter the game significantly more banged up, listing a remarkable 19 players on their injury report throughout the week. Of those, six were ruled out for the Week 9 game, and a seventh was listed as questionable.
Cam Skattebo injury update
Skattebo suffered a hamstring injury on his final carry against the Houston Texans in Week 7. It was a big play for the Giants, setting
up the game-winning score by fellow running back Devin Singletary, but it came at a cost.
Not wanting to risk an even more severe injury, Skattebo slid down instead of chasing more yards.
Skattebo was listed as a non-participant in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday, instead working with trainers on the side. On Friday, he was officially listed as limited in practice, which came as news to head coach John Harbaugh.
"No," the coach said bluntly when asked if Skattebo was able to do anything on Friday.
Will Cam Skattebo play vs. Eagles?
Despite two days of non-participation and one day of limited but apparently "no" participation, the Giants gave Skattebo a "doubtful" designation for Sunday's game against the Eagles.
Why "doubtful" and not "out?" Because Harbaugh refused to close the door on Skattebo playing against Philly.
"Yeah, let's keep it open," he told reporters on Friday. "Let's keep it open; let's see what happens."
Skattebo playing on Sunday is unlikely but not impossible. They will test his hamstring during warm-ups to see if there was any unexpected progress over the past 48 hours.
Who would replace Cam Skattebo in the lineup?
With Najee Harris having been released and Tyrone Tracy Jr. on injured reserve (IR), the Giants find themselves remarkably thin at running back. Should Skattebo be inactive, veteran Devin Singletary will take over as the starter.
"The story I'll give you with Motor Singletary is this is a kid that's been in this game for a long time. And he's a savvy vet," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said this week. "I couldn't think of anything but how he handled himself the entire last five weeks. And we talked about it in the locker room, and I think, for him, what a credit, and we're lucky to have him."
Behind Singletary, things are a bit more unclear. The Giants signed Gregory Desrosiers off of the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad in late October, but he's yet to earn a carry.
On Saturday, the team elevated Phil Mafah from their practice squad. He's been with the team since mid-September and has a better grasp of Nagy's offense than Desrosiers.
Mafah's elevation is also a strong indicator that Skattebo will not play on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Will New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo play vs. Philadelphia Eagles?
