Cam Skattebo's botched backflip a fortnight ago caused a kerfuffle that the New York Giants brass felt they needed to address.
The Big Blue running back, who was rehabbing from a fractured tibia and right ankle dislocation, attempted his trademark flip at a Fanatics Fest, but couldn't stick the landing. The RB brushed aside the incident and promised he wouldn't get hurt before the season. However, coach John Harbaugh and GM Joe Schoen spoke with the second-year pro about being prudent.
"The big-picture message is you want to take care of yourself, take care of your team. Do everything you can do to be healthy, be back, be right, be good," Harbaugh said via . "What does that mean? It's not going to be the same situation the next time for anybody. It's going to be different. So it's really the principle of it."
Skattebo has dismissed the perception that his backflipping is dangerous, and promised to perform the trick after he scores his first touchdown of the season. The brashness is part of his persona.
The team isn't fretting over the issues but still taking a hold-your-breath approach with their top back.
"Yeah, we have [had conversations], but again, he's a young man that's still getting used to the spotlight and in New York City and you got to be conscious of your actions, not only from a health standpoint, but a perception standpoint," Schoen said. "But he knows I'd rather him not do that, especially this close to camp. But it's also a testament to how good of a job our training staff did and medical staff did in terms of getting him back and ready to go here as we start camp."
Even as they've allowed Skattebo to be himself, the fact that Harbaugh and Schoen felt it needed to be addressed with the 24-year-old, and didn't scoff at questions about it this week, says plenty about how they feel about flipping.
"To me, it's a very good question," Harbaugh said. "It's something that ... we talk about everything all the time. So those things, that, other things come up every day with [Skattebo] and everybody else. There are a lot of guys you talk to every day. You have interactions with everyone on the team.
"So [Skattebo] and I have had five or six really good conversations since he got back and that might have been talked about in there with some other stuff. It might have been. It might have been. There might be a good change. It's part of the ongoing process. Just communication, be on the same page, trying to be the best at everything we do. He's great. He wants to be great. He listens. He talks. He tells you what he thinks. It's all good."
Skattebo was cleared for training camp and has taken on a full workload. He's been the clear-cut No. 1 running back thus far, per beat reporters, ahead of Tyrone Tracy Jr., in Big Blue's new offense.
