It doesn’t get much worse than this. New York Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo suffered a horrific ankle injury in the second quarter of their Week 8 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The league claims it’s all about player safety. But when Eagles linebacker Zack Baun blatantly hip-drop tackles Skatt — likely ending his season — and there’s not even a flag, frustration sets in fast. The NFL has made the hip-drop tackle public enemy No. 1. By their own definition:
"It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:NFL official rulebook
Grabs the runner with one or both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee."
If you watched the replay, you saw it. Baun wrapped up the 23-year-old and dropped all his weight right on Skattebo’s leg. His ankle got pinned underneath, and just like that, the rookie’s season is likely over.
Cam Skattebo’s season-ending injury exposes NFL’s failure to enforce hip drop tackle rule
Retroactively fine Baun. Suspend him. And then do the same for the officials who missed the blatant penalty. That was about as clear-cut as it gets. He made zero attempt to avoid dropping his hips, catching Skattebo’s ankle under his full weight and likely ending the rookie’s season.
Dart’s reaction to the injury said everything. Teammates cleared the sideline to support the human-sized fire hydrant as the cart came out.
It's a joke. Here I was thinking we were worried about players' safety. Silly me. All of it is so infuriating. This obviously comes on the heels of the officials already being terrible in the game, so it's not surprising, unfortunately.
In real-time, the optics looked terrible. It was essentially an immediate understanding that Giants fans lost yet another key offensive piece for the year, after already losing Malik Nabers to a torn ACL in Week 4. Expect a heavy dose of Tyrone Tracy Jr. moving forward. But make no mistake about it, the wind in Big Blue’s sail is all but gone.
Dart is now down two of his most explosive weapons. What that means for his development remains to be seen — but the road ahead just got a lot steeper.
If the league wants to talk about player safety, this is the moment to prove it. This is on the league. Now they have to answer for it.