New York Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo was forging himself a legend last season with his smashmouth style until a devastating ankle injury in Week 8 stopped him cold.

The fourth-round pick out of Arizona State in the 2025 NFL draft had jettisoned past Tyrone Tracy Jr. for the lead spot in the Giants’ backfield when he suffered a dislocated ankle, a fibula fracture, and a ruptured deltoid ligament.

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Skattebo underwent emergency surgery to repair the injuries. The prognosis was that he would need 4-6 months of rehab and should be ready for training camp in July. Mentally, that has always been the case for him. Now, physically, he’s beginning to ramp things up. He recently began jogging, the first step back to normalcy.

“Obviously not running,” Skattebo told the New York Post on Friday on Radio Row at the Super Bowl. “I just got out of the long process of getting back healthy, and I still have a bone healing, so I’m getting back into it and having a good time.’”

Skaterbo burst onto the scene last season and made football look easy. Onlookers expressed concern about his physical style and its long-term effect on his body. Players can’t go full throttle all the time for very long.

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His injury was not a result of that. He just fell the wrong way, but he knows how fragile life can be even for a tough guy. He’s thinking about the future more now.

“I broke my ankle so I’ve learned a lot about myself, who I am and what I’ve done in the process of getting healthy and what I really want in life and living without football sucks,” Skattebo said. “Just understanding that this is what I’m gonna do for hopefully the next 10 years, that’s my plan, that’s my goal. I’m a football player, that’s who I am.”

What that means for Skattebo’s role with the Giants going forward is unknown. They have a new head coach in John Harbaugh, a new offensive coordinator in Matt Nagy, and a new running backs coach in Willie Taggart. This week, they added Greg Roman to the staff as a de facto run game coordinator, so they’ll definitely be a new approach on offense this season.

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Will they allow Skattebo to continue to play with reckless abandon or strategically bottle his aggression and pick their spots with him? Stay tuned.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants’ Cam Skattebo provides positive update on recovery from ugly injury