Tyrone Tracy ‘trending’ toward Giants return from shoulder injury

It looks as though running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. has a decent chance to make his return for Thursday night’s game against the Eagles.

That should ease the load on rookie Cam Skattebo, who put the ball on the turf with a costly fumble in the Week 5 loss to the Saints.

Tracy has missed the past two games after he got knocked out of the Week 3 loss to the Chiefs with a partially dislocated shoulder.

It had not been a fast start for Tracy, who gained only 68 yards on 22 rushing attempts in the first three games.

Tracy had 839 rushing yards as a rookie in 2024 and said heading into this season that he believed gaining 1,500 rushing yards was a realistic goal for him to reach.

There is no actual practice this week for Tracy to determine if he is ready for the pounding an NFL running back needs to be able to withstand.

“I’m trending in the right direction I guess,’’ Tracy said Tuesday. “It’s a day-by-day thing, not necessarily anything set in stone right now. Obviously I’m hoping to be out there. We’re still trying to figure it out.

“It’s something the doctors are looking at. Got to make sure everybody’s comfortable with the situation and make sure I can go out there and execute my job at a high level. That’s really what it is. If I can’t go out there and produce and play the way I want to play, then I shouldn’t be out there.’’

Without Tracy, Skattebo stepped into the feature back role, with mixed results. He has two rushing touchdowns and leads the team with 240 rushing yards. He is averaging only 3.8 yards per attempt, though, and he cost the Giants points Sunday in New Orleans.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Giants were on the Saints 12-yard line when Skattebo took a handoff from rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and disaster ensued.

Defensive lineman Bryan Bresee punched the ball out of Skattebo’s grasp, the fumble was recovered by safety Jordan Howden and he raced 86 yards for a touchdown to give the Saints their final points in a 26-14 victory.

As the backup to Skattebo, veteran Devin Singletary has not been effective, with 72 yards on 21 rushing attempts.

Tracy did not say for certain if he believes he will be ready.

“If you see me out there that means my confidence is through the roof,’’ he said. “I would never go out there and be less than. I will always go out there and try my best to put my team in a great situation. If I can’t do that then I don’t want to play.’’