Sports

At 5-foot-9 and 219 pounds, Giants rookie Cam Skattebo is far from the biggest running back in the NFL. But at Arizona State he earned a reputation for running over would-be tacklers, and he thinks he can keep that up at the next level.

Skattebo said he thinks he's capable of making people miss, but acknowledged, "I more so hit people."

"It feels good when you get in the end zone, but imagine running someone over and then running another person over and then getting in the end zone," Skattebo said. "It's that much better."

Skattebo said that his physical running style on the field is a reflection on how he approaches his craft off the field.

"When you're physical it shows the work you put in, in the weight room, and how much you do to make your game better," Skattebo said.

Can Skattebo continue to be physical against bigger, stronger opponents in the NFL? He acknowledged he hasn't proven that yet, but thinks he's going to show what kind of player he is.

"I've worked 18 years to get to this moment, I'm on an NFL team now and I still have more to prove," Skattebo said. "I'm excited to get to work and prove what I am."

The Chargers could have kept their "home" game against the Chiefs at home. They decided not to.

The league reportedly has picked the Chiefs to be the Week 1 Friday night opponent for the Chargers in Brazil. The Chiefs game was not one of the two home games that Chargers chose to protect.

As recently explained by Ben Fischer and Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, teams exporting home games to the international series can protect up to two games. The Chargers, per the report, did not protect any of their three AFC West home games.

The Chargers host the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders every year. They opted to focus on teams that visit less frequently, with the Steelers, Commanders, and Eagles specifically named as the games the Chargers were more inclined to protect.

The specific two the Chargers protected haven't been identified. It doesn't matter. If the report that it will be the Chiefs is accurate (the official announcement comes Tuesday morning), the Chiefs game goes to São Paulo, and the other eight (Steelers, Eagles, Commanders, Texans, Colts, Vikings, Raiders, and Broncos) will stay at SoFi.

Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart took a stand.

Without his rookie contract in place, the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft was unwilling to participate in the team's rookie minicamp. Despite the criticism he has received from some, it was absolutely the right move. Given the ease with which rookie deals are now negotiated, no player should set foot on a practice field without the security that comes from the finalization of his rookie deal.

There's no reason for the team to force any player to assume even the slightest amount of risk. For first-round picks, all four years are fully guaranteed. Once the player signs, the injury risk shifts to the team. Where it should be, if the player is going to be practicing with the team.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bengals tried to get Stewart signed. As we understand it, the talks bogged down regarding the percentage of compensation in future years to be paid as a training-camp roster bonus.

The training-camp roster bonus has become a device for putting a sizable chunk of the player's pay in his pockets in future years, early in the season. In this case, the numbers offered by the Bengals reflected a lower percentage than the 17th overall pick received in 2024.

It's a simple fix. Match or beat the percentage from 2024, and the deal gets done. And Stewart shows up.

With more and more players signing their rookie deals before participating in the rookie minicamp, every player should be willing to take a stand. The message is simple, clear, and as fair as it can be:

If you want me to act like an employee, make me one.