NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe spent part of Friday’s Nightcap reacting to New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo, who said earlier in the week that he thought about retiring after a 2025 ankle injury.
Sharpe, Chad Johnson and Joe Johnson focused less on the comeback than on the mindset. They said they never had time to think negatively after getting hurt.
“There are no winners in football; there are survivors in football. You play probably the sports that the most serious injuries happen,” Sharpe said. “You gotta know when the journey is over.”
The panel was surprised a player so early in his career would put retirement on the table.
On Up & Adams, Skattebo told Kay Adams he had one rule entering the league: A major injury would end his career. Seven games into his rookie season, in a Week 8 loss to Philadelphia, he dislocated his ankle, fractured his fibula, and ruptured his deltoid ligament.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said when asked if retirement crossed his mind. “I would say a month in — the first month was kind of like, ‘Damn. Do I really want to do this?'”
The feeling passed. Rehab, including long days at home, helped him find who he is as a player and a person. He has since said those thoughts are behind him and that he is ready to keep playing.
