The New York Giants have leaned heavily on rookie running back Cam Skattebo over the last two weeks while Tyrone Tracy has been sidelined due to injury.
Tracy has missed each of the last two games due to a shoulder injury. In that span, the rookie has handled a whopping 40 carries, including 25 in Week 4, and eight catches on nine targets. Outside of a very costly fumble, Skattebo has played well.
Looking ahead to Week 6, we could see less work for the young back, as the Giants have removed Tracy from the injury report, which signals he's good to go for the contest against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.
In Weeks 2 and 3 when Tracy was healthy, Skattebo averaged 14.5 touches per game as compared to the 24 he averaged the past two weeks. Tracy, on the other hand, averaged nine in that span.
Skattebo and Tracy were both in the lineup for Week 1, but that was also Skattebo's NFL debut, so it's not surprising he didn't see a lot of work. Tracy had 12 touches in that game, in case you were wondering, while Skattebo had just four.
It stands to reason that Tracy will cut into Skattebo's workload at least a little bit, but he could take even more touches away from the rookie if the Giants decide to lessen Skattebo's workload on a short week.
That said, youth and size give Skattebo a better chance than most to avoid the Giants holding him back because of the three-day turnaround.
We'd still expect Skattebo to lead the backfield as he did when Tracy was healthy in the two weeks before his absence, just don't expect him to get 20-plus touches like he has been because Tracy will almost certainly be involved upon his return to the field.
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