Cam Skattebo Camp Update — August 23: Still the first back up at practice

Cam Skattebo's week was defined by a signing that was not his and a beat correcting the record about what it meant. The Giants gave Najee Harris a one-year deal Tuesday, per Myles Simmons at Pro Football Talk, and by Friday ESPN's Jordan Raanan was reporting that Skattebo "remains the Giants' top option" and has been "the first running back up most days at practice," as relayed by Zac Wassink at Yardbarker. John Harbaugh's own scouting report ran the same direction with an honest asterisk: Skattebo has "looked like the pre-injury Skattebo of last season," though he is not yet "100% twitchy and explosive." Harbaugh was just as direct about the new arrival: Harris is "not back 100 percent. He's not in football shape yet," still working back from last season's Achilles tear.

On the field, the week was maintenance. No Skattebo line surfaced in the coverage we accessed of Saturday's 26 to three win in Miami — a game most starters sat, per Michael Haney and Patricia Traina at Giants On SI, with Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy handling the backfield — and no specific Skattebo plays were detailed in the team site's joint-practice coverage. Worth logging from that Saturday game: Tracy fumbled for the second consecutive week, per Haney and Traina, which is the kind of ledger that tends to consolidate work around the backs the staff trusts.

Back in June our preview said two things carried this file — the featured role and the surgically repaired leg, availability first. This week the role survived its most direct test yet, a veteran back walking into the room, while the coach's "not yet 100% twitchy" is the leg question stated out loud rather than hidden.

Watch next: whether Skattebo plays in Friday's finale against the Jets or is held to Wednesday-style practice work through cutdown, and how the carries split behind him once Harris is deemed in football shape. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._