Eagles

John Harbaugh Wants Cam Skattebo to be Infectious in a Good Way, Not in a Disease-like Way

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Aug 27th, 2026 · 10:28 AM EDT

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Little bit of drama coming out of Giants camp on Wednesday, so let’s break it down sequentially.

First, there was a bit of a kerfuffle involving Cam Skattebo, which was reported somewhat differently from various beats:

Cam Skattebo started a fight in practice today. He slid down after a reception and came dangerously close to taking out a couple Giants DBs’ legs. The defense isn’t allowed to hit.

Jevon Holland and Greg Newsome did not appreciate it. Situation escalated between Skattebo and…

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) August 26, 2026

There was a scuffle initiated by Cam Skattebo with Greg Newsome, Jevon Holland. That was a long time coming. Skattebo has been talking trash to the secondary most of the summer #Giants

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 26, 2026

More interesting than the Giants dustup was the aftermath. Skattebo made his way across the field to the defensive sideline on an apparent peace mission. He hugged it out with Newsome, but it wasn't clear everyone accepted his olive branch. More here: https://t.co/JdbukpjE51

— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) August 26, 2026

Giants lineman Jermaine Eluemunor didn’t like how Leonard described the situation, and took to social media to poo-poo the reporting:

🧢 Stop trying to create a BS Narrative https://t.co/CkLFunX6jg

— Jermaine Eluemunor (@JEluemunor) August 26, 2026

After practice, John Harbaugh was asked about Skattebo and more or less said that he plays with a lot of energy but has to be careful not to be an idiot (paraphrasing) –

John Harbaugh was asked if Cam Skattebo's energy is "infectious" for the rest of the team:

"Skatt’s great. He does bring a lot of energy. But he did get a 15-yard penalty at the end of practice. Did you notice that? That's not infectious. Well, it is infectious, actually.… pic.twitter.com/cwhKpIfzUb

— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) August 26, 2026

So we’ve got Leonard on one side of the spectrum, saying that “Skattebo has had it coming. He ran over linebacker Zaire Barnes the other day, too, when the defense wasn’t hitting. His act is getting old to his defensive teammates.” Connor Hughes didn’t go in as hard, but explained that there’s been a lot of trash talking coming from Skattebo and directed towards the secondary. Harbaugh was somewhere in the middle with his comments, and obviously Eluemunor thinks the whole thing is B.S.

What we do know is that Skattebo is dumber than a box of rocks. Same guy who failed to land a backflip on the stage at Fanatics Fest just 10 months removed from an open tibia fracture and right ankle dislocation. He’s a football meathead, a good player but not a Mensa candidate, so it’s totally plausible that someone like him is a little extra at training camp and probably annoying the shit out of the defensive players.

Normally these types of instances would not be news, since guys are itchy to play real football and the defense would probably like to hit somebody for real, but knowing that Skattebo can be a needler, maybe the flare up stood out.

The Giants open with the Cowboys at home and then the Rams on the road. It would be nice if they started 0-2 right off the bat. They’ve got Tennessee and Arizona at home in Weeks 3 and 4 so you don’t want them to build any kind of momentum and generate any kind of hope that they’re going to actually do something this year.