Cam Skattebo found himself in the Giants’ doghouse last week.
Skattebo was relegated to a bench role Sunday afternoon against the Saints after his fourth fumble through five games this season proved costly in the team’s tie with the Commanders.
Though head coach John Harbaugh insisted that the demotion wasn’t by design, the message was clearly received from the hard-nosed second-year running back.
“I got taught a lesson,” Skattebo said. “I don’t know if that’s from them or from myself, but I had to take a step back and figure out why I was doing the things that I was doing and what exactly was happening.”
The 24-year-old didn’t point towards one specific reason behind the uncharacteristic ball security issues, but he did highlight the mental side of it, particularly on the costly one in Washington.
“I got a little ahead of myself,” he explained. “I lost the main purpose of the game, I was to care care of the ball at that moment, and I lost it -- it’s just understanding the situation and circumstances, taking care of the ball and I’ll be fine.”
Harbaugh himself has been impressed with what he’s seen from Skattebo in practice, and he’s expected to reclaim a role in the offense this week, especially with Najee Harris released.
Though the head coach implied Harris being cut was more about carrying four running backs, Skattebo takes that as a message to himself and the rest of the running back room to pick things up.
“Nobody is safe, it’s as simple as that,” he emphasized. “When we go on the field, if we’re not performing we understand there’s a possibility of not being here -- if I don’t perform I know there’s a possibility of me not being here.
“We came into practice this week, and we continue to work -- we know where we’re at, we know what we have here in the room, and if we put that to display out there I think we’re going to be just fine.”