Cam Skattebo Set a Ridiculous Goal for Himself When He Returns From Injury This Season

Skattebo’s rookie season was cut short because of injury, and he’s looking to pick up where he left off.

Giants running back Cam Skattebo set a lofty goal for his sophomore season. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Giants running back Cam Skattebo was off to a great start to his rookie season in 2025, that was until he dislocated his ankle to end his season in Week 8. He also suffered a fractured fibula and a ruptured deltoid ligament.

Originally Skattebo was projected to be ready at the start of New York’s offseason voluntary workouts in early April. He has yet to hit the field though, casting concern regarding when the running back could be ready to play football again this year.

On Monday, the running back clarified that he fully intends on being ready by Week 1 of the 2026 season, but didn’t specify an exact timeline of when he will play before then.

“Obviously there's ups and downs in the injury process and coming back and rehabbing, but the mental battle has been the hardest part: making sure that I trust it fully,” Skattebo said, via The Associated Press. “I’m a little ways out. Not too far, but I'll be ready to go. Week 1, I'll be ready to go.”

As for what Skattebo expects out of his sophomore season, the running back has set quite the ridiculous goal for himself. He wasn’t impressed with his rookie season, even though he logged two games of 79-plus rushing yards, and he has an extremely lofty goal in mind for 2026: rushing for 2,000 yards.

“I do not consider [last season] successful for me,” Skattebo said. “I had 400 yards on 100 carries. When I play 17-plus games this year, it's going to be 300 carries for over 2,000 yards.”

It would be incredible if Skattebo fulfills his goal this season. Only a couple handfuls of running backs have accomplished this feat in NFL history—could Skattebo add his name to the history books in his expected first full season in the league? That’d be nothing short of spectacular. But, it won’t be easy for him to do by any means.

NFL running backs to rush for 2,000-plus yards

Only nine running backs in the history of the NFL have rushed for 2,000-plus yards in a single season. Skattebo is hoping to make himself the 10th player to do so. The most recent players to achieve this milestone were Derrick Henry, who totaled 2,027 yards during the 2020 season with the Titans, and Saquon Barkley, who accumulated 2,005 yards in 2024 with the Eagles.

Here’s a look at the nine players who have hit the 2,000-yard mark in a single season.

Player	Yards	Season	Team
Eric Dickerson	2,105	1984	Rams
Adrian Peterson	2,097	2012	Vikings
Jamal Lewis	2,066	2003	Ravens
Barry Sanders	2,053	1997	Lions
Derrick Henry	2,027	2020	Titans
Terrell Davis	2,008	1998	Broncos
Chris Johnson	2,006	2009	Titans
Saquon Barkley	2,005	2024	Eagles
O.J. Simpson	2,003	1973	Bills

As you can see, it’s difficult to reach the 2,000-yard mark, let alone tally more than 2,000 yards. Skattebo will need to get off to another hot start to the 2026 season if he wants to keep this goal as attainable. If he has even just one or two bad games, he can say sayonara to that dream for this year. He’s early in his NFL career—he’ll likely have plenty of time to achieve this dream, as long as he stays healthy.

As for his goal of 300 carries, that is much more attainable as this milestone has been hit 244 times in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference.

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