Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the Cam Skattebo situation with the New York Giants, telling coach John Harbaugh how he should have dealt with it.
Cam Skattebo burst onto the scene in 2025 as an unexpected rookie contributor for the New York Giants. The running back rushed for 410 yards and five touchdowns while adding 207 receiving yards and two scores in just eight games. Injury cut his season short, but not before he became a firm fan-favourite.
Skattebo’s personality has as much to do with his popularity as his talent. He has shown himself to be quite straightforward and dynamic, both on the field and off it. But this season, the on-field part of it has been difficult. Skattebo wasn’t given a single touch in NY’s Week 6 loss, largely thanks to his numerous issues with ball security since his return.
Stephen A. Smith reveals he is sick of Cam Skattebo, says his production doesn’t match his issues
The young running back has fumbled the football four times in six games while averaging just 3.6 yards per carry for New York so far this season. He lost his starting role to Najee Harris, which became a big point of conversation, although Skattebo did accept fault for his mistakes, too.
John Harbaugh made his disappointment clear through his decisions. Stephen A. Smith has used words to send both the Giants star and his coach a message.
“The Giants are not good enough to have a decent player out there, who is your RB1 and he never touches the football,’ Stephen A. said on First Take. “Having said that, John Harbaugh, let me look in the camera and say this to this former Super Bowl championship coach. What you should have done is say that it was intentional.
“Because you’re sick of Cam Skattebo. Because guess what, I am too. And I mean this respectfully. That brother can play, and I wish him all the best. But the backflips… You get an injury and then in the offseason you’re on some stage and you’re backflipping again.
“You’re feeling yourself, you’ve got all these commercials, these endorsements, stuff like that. But John Harbaugh needs you to step up on the field. There is such a thing as cats getting a level of popularity that their level of production hasn’t measured up to. That’s the situation with Cam Skattebo.”
Considering that Skattebo is still quite young and coming off major injury, he should likely be cut a little more slack than Smith is here. The NFL can be unforgiving, though, so the running back needs to work hard to get back into his coach’s good graces soon.
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