PHOENIX – Through eight games of the NFL season, rookie running back Cam Skattebo racked up 410 rushing yards, 207 receiving yards and five touchdowns. But it wasn’t the stats that captured the hearts of a tough New York Giants fan base.
It was Skattebo’s energy, work ethic, infectious passion for the game and physicality – the same attributes that practically made him a cult figure at Arizona State – that had fans around football enamored with the 5-foot-11, 215-pound bruiser.
So it was gut-wrenching not only for Arizona State fans and New York Giants supporters but for the football world at large when Skattebo suffered a dislocated ankle, fractured fibula and ruptured deltoid ligament in his right leg on Oct. 27 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Did it put his NFL future at stake?
Jesse Lowman, an associate athletic trainer at Arizona State, said quick action by the Giants’ medical staff gives Skattebo a good chance to make a full recovery.
“Fortunately, it was pretty clean relative to that injury, where they got him (aligned), got him back in a normal position.” Lowman said.
The injury occurred on what appeared to be a routine play. Giants quarterback Jackson Dart swung a short pass to the flat and as Skattebo reached out to make the catch, he went down awkwardly under Eagles linebacker Zach Baun. Teammates rushed to his side while Dart, one of his closest friends on the team, was visibly shaken and was caught on camera yelling in anguish.
“I feel absolutely terrible for the young man,” Giants coach Brian Daboll told reporters at the time. “Obviously, I saw it looked bad. You feel for anybody on your team that goes down and has a really bad injury.”
Skattebo underwent surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital Presbyterian campus, a crucial step given the risk of arterial, nerve and soft tissue damage that can accompany open dislocations
The Giants announced that the surgery was successful and Skattebo was released to begin rehabilitation. Early estimates have the rookie missing the rest of the season but possibly returning for offseason training or early in next season’s camp, if recovery goes well.
To understand what the injury entails, Lowman, associate athletic trainer for ASU baseball and men’s golf, offered insight based on his nearly two decades in sports medicine. When treating a dislocation, he said, the top priority at the scene is restoring blood flow and nerve function, a procedure trainers refer to as a “reduction.”
The procedure is delicate and time-sensitive; in those first moments, they assess circulation, neurological response and joint positioning before attempting to realign the limb. In a case as severe as Skattebo’s, Lowman said, immediate stabilization and surgery were the only ways to prevent permanent damage.
“In Cam’s case, you are dealing with open bleeding, a significant fracture,” Lowman said. “You have a joint that’s so unstable that once you get it stable, you want to make sure you retire it and fixate it in a manner to protect those more vital areas of the ankle.”
He noted how Skattebo’s injury differs from injuries like ACL tears, which sometimes allow for delayed surgery. Lowman contrasted Skattebo’s situation to that of his Giants teammate Malik Nabers, a receiver whose ACL injuries still required careful timing and structured rehab.
“Big difference is a matter of significant trauma that needs immediate attention because it’s an emergency-type injury versus an ACL, which does not require emergency care.”
Lowman also drew comparisons to other high-profile injuries to help fans put the severity in context. While former NFL quarterback Alex Smith’s catastrophic leg fracture involved arterial and bone trauma that put him at risk of amputation, Skattebo’s damage, though serious, was clean and localized to the ankle.
The recovery process will test both the former ASU standout’s body and mind.
Lowman outlined a general timeline for such an injury: around 12 weeks for bones and ligaments to heal before introducing controlled stress, rebuilding mobility and gradually ramping up to sport-specific activity.
Full clearance could take four to six months, depending on how an athlete’s body responds.
“Then it’s a progression of, make sure he has the ankle mobility back,” Lowman said. “He’s got to be able to move his ankle fluently. And then they go through an activation process, where you strengthen the legs in general and the body in general and kind of prepare his body again to do athletic stuff.”
He emphasized that even after tissue healing, retraining the brain to trust the joint is critical, especially for cutting and planting motions. Skattebo’s mental toughness, the same drive that defined his college career, will likely be a key factor in this process.
Skattebo’s own words seem to confirm that mindset. From his hospital bed, he posted on X: “Thank you everyone for the support!! Surgery went well. … This is just the beginning of my journey … stick the course and it will all work itself out. BRB. #LFG.”
Support poured in.
Giants offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor told The Athletic that Skattebo “irreplaceable” and pointed to his energy and the way he ran the ball as something hard to replicate. Daboll spoke of Skattebo’s “infectious personality.”
Even across the NFC East divide, the goodwill showed. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Eagles chief of security Dom DiSandro visited Skattebo in the hospital and brought food – a cheesesteak, of course – as a small but telling gesture.
Back in Tempe, ASU coach Kenny Dillingham reflected on his former player’s resilience and the lasting impact he had on the program.
“Sad deal. That dude’s just worked his butt off his entire life to get to where he’s at,” Dillingham said. “It’s a great example of, if you treat people well – regardless of how he rehabs and regardless of his future – he’s gonna be successful based off how he treated people, the passion he played the game.
“Through football in 10 years, 15 years, that dude has built a brand for himself that’s sustainable. And it’s unfortunate what happened to him, but his success in life, you know, is still gonna be there.”
Lowman said he’s witnessed what such an injury can do to a player and how such moments become powerful recovery stories. He remembered dislocating his ankle on a slide into home plate and also watched players such as former San Francisco Giants ccatcher Buster Posey endure similar trauma.
Lowman stressed, however, that the prognosis is favorable, drawing on his experience with other major joint trauma. He added that even injuries such as ACL tears and Tommy John surgery, which are often perceived as career-altering, have very high success in terms of allowing athletes to return to their prior level of performance. Combining the successful surgical repair with the athlete’s mental makeup provides strong assurance.
“I think the outcomes of that are pretty successful.” Lowman said of the type injury Skattebo sustained. “The success rate for this stuff is pretty high.”
The coming months will be defined by patience and precision. Lowman explained that trainers follow a strict progression: walking, jogging, cutting and finally full-speed play, with each step coming only after the body proves ready.
“We balance what we know about physiology, what we know about how the body heals, versus what he’s actually capable of doing,” Lowman said.
It’s a calculated balance between science and intuition, knowing when to push and when to pause and a principle that will guide Skattebo’s recovery every step of the way.
And as Skattebo embarks on that path, he won’t walk it alone. Family, teammates, medical staff and coaches are all rallying around him. Lowman said the mental side, the belief that the body can once again perform, is often the final hurdle.
But he has no doubt Skattebo will clear it.
“I don’t expect that to be a factor for a guy like him, just watching him play football.” Lowman said. “I think he’s proven that in his time (at ASU) and what we watched as a rookie in the NFL, right?”
The Giants lost one of their rising stars for the season, but now Skattebo is ready to begin a new story – one of courage and perseverance, of an athlete reaching a crossroads ready to move past it with the same unshakable determination that got him to it.
“Injuries like this test more than the body,” Lowman said, capturing best what lies ahead for Skattebo. “They test your patience, your mindset and your will. But if you follow the process and trust the rehabilitation, you come back not just healed but stronger.
“Cam has the right mindset to do exactly that.”
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