Giants running back Cam Skattebo considered retirement in 2025 following injury

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo “definitely” considered walking away from football as he rehabbed a gruesome ankle injury last season, the second-year pro told Kay Adams on Thursday during her show “Up and Adams.”

That admission followed Skattebo telling Adams that coming out of college and heading into the NFL, he gave himself one rule: If he ever suffered a major injury, he’d be done playing.

That happened in Week 8 when the 2025 fourth-round NFL Draft pick suffered a devastating, season-ending ankle injury on the road in Philadelphia.

“Do I really wanna do this?”

Cam Skattebo thought about walking away from the NFL about a month after his injury. pic.twitter.com/wOl372prp9

— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) September 3, 2026

“The first month was kind of like, ‘Damn, do I really want to do this?’” Skattebo said. “And then it was seven games in, I was like, ‘I have to go back and play.’ There’s no shot (I’d retire). There’s no shot.”

Skattebo, of course, has returned to the field for the Giants after a lengthy rehabilitation process; he told Adams the injury helped him find who he is as a player and as a person.

“That’s something that I’ve built over the last nine, 10 months,” he said. “Now being able to focus back in on football, I’ve had lots of talks with family and friends, like, ‘Hey, look, it’s football time now.’”

Even coming off the brutal injury, Skattebo remains the team’s top running back on the depth chart, though he’ll share work with Tyrone Tracy Jr., Najee Harris and Devin Singletary in a somewhat crowded backfield.

Skattebo will be looking to build on his short but promising rookie season, during which he tallied 101 carries for 410 yards and five touchdowns, to go along with 24 receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns.