Giants players discuss trying to bounce back from gruesome Cam Skattebo injury

New York Giants players spent portions of their Monday still processing what they witnessed when rookie running back Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome dislocation of his right ankle midway through the second quarter of the club's 38-20 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday. 

While speaking with reporters at the start of the work week, Giants guard Greg Van Roten addressed how he and his teammates will attempt to respond following a devastating blow. 

Giants will miss the energy Cam Skattebo brings offense, locker room

"It's hard," Van Roten acknowledged, per the Giants' website. "To see one of your teammates go down like that, especially somebody like Skatt who brings a lot of energy to the offense and the team in general, a lot of production goes through him, you're going to miss him a lot. Then, just for him personally, you feel really bad for the guy, because you know how much work he's put in to put himself in a position to make it in the NFL and establish himself as a starter. Then you just have one snap where you get hurt, and you just know it's a long road to recovery, and you feel for the guy."

The combination of Skattebo and rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart gave a needed "spark" to a Giants team that previously dropped four of its first five games and lost No. 1 wide receiver Malik Nabers to a torn ACL in Week 4. History shows a Giants side that fell to 2-6 on the final Sunday of October probably won't be part of future playoff conversations, but Van Roten understandably had other things on his mind during Monday's media availability. 

"He works hard, and it's contagious, so he won guys over quick just with his work ethic," Van Roten said about Skattebo. "How he approaches the game of football is refreshing in a way, where it doesn't have to be all scheme and this and that. Sometimes you just run somebody over, and that's good enough. We're going to miss that, but he's not gone. He's just not playing, you know what I mean? He'll still be around when he's back and all that, so we're excited for him to get on the road to recovery and just be around the team again."

How Giants grew to love Cam Skattebo 

Skattebo won't play again this season and will now focus on getting right for the start of the 2026 campaign. On Monday, defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches noted that the Giants will be without more than just their leading ball-carrier through Week 18. 

"He means a lot," Nunez-Roches added about Skattebo. "...Just him being himself, it's so authentic. You see the guy. He gives everything that he has every play. And it's hard not to love a guy like that. When you're working so hard for something, you see a guy put in the work and get the results for what he's doing." 

The Giants will need to pick themselves up off the mat as they prepare to host the San Francisco 49ers (5-3) Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had Big Blue as a 2.5-point underdog for that matchup.