John Harbaugh said on October 23 that Cameron Skattebo was always going to be a big part of the season, a notable public nod as the team weighed how to handle its running backs going forward. He said Skattebo had a heck of a week of practice, and that the rest of the backs did too.
That matters now because Harbaugh tied the discussion to the roster, not just the workload. He said the team had to make other moves to get players on the roster and that it was hard to carry four backs, which made the decision more about construction than punishment.
Harbaugh also said the team was trying to focus on preparing to play its best football in the next game against a very tough opponent in a tough environment. In that setting, practice weeks carry extra weight, because coaches are not just looking at who looked good in drills but who fits the plan when the game gets tight.
The friction in Harbaugh’s comments is that the choice to move on from Najee Harris at this time was not presented as a verdict on Harris himself. Harbaugh said nothing about Harris was because of what he did or did not do, adding that Harris ran super hard and simply did not have a lot of room in the plays he had over the last couple of weeks.
That leaves Skattebo in a better place than he was a week ago, at least in terms of how Harbaugh described him. The team had practiced really well the previous week and then again this week, and Harbaugh’s message was clear: the next step is not about a headline. It is about whether that practice work turns into a larger role when the next game arrives.
