Odell Beckham Jr's second act in New York is about 34 hours from becoming official. Giants coach John Harbaugh, asked directly Thursday night whether Beckham was in line to make the team, wouldn't confirm a roster spot outright — but he didn't need to hedge much. "He has done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure," Harbaugh said, according to Mike Garafolo, with the 53-man deadline looming Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
#Giants coach John Harbaugh, asked last night if Odell Beckham was in line to make the team, didn’t want to announce roster spots but said, “he has done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure.” No place like home for Beckham, who is about 34 hours away from officially returning.
That's about as close to a green light as a coach gives without saying the words. Beckham, now 33, signed a one-year deal with the Giants back in June worth $1.3 million with zero guaranteed money — a pure make-the-roster-or-make-nothing arrangement. For a guy who was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in New York in 2014 and racked up 3 Pro Bowls before a 2019 trade sent him to Cleveland, it's a stark contrast from the $18 million he signed for in Baltimore just 2 years ago.
The preseason case wrote itself. In the Giants' preseason finale, a 23-6 win over the Jets, Beckham caught 3 passes for 51 yards — modest numbers, but enough tape to make the front office's decision easier. Beckham himself said making this roster "would mean everything," a sentiment that lands differently for a receiver who's bounced from Cleveland to the Rams to Baltimore and is now trying to walk back through the same door he first came through as a rookie.
Odell Beckham, who caught three passes in the preseason finale, says it would mean everything to make the Giants' roster. t.co/wxyIjAYhPb
That journey included a Super Bowl ring with the Rams in 2022 — and the gut-punch of tearing his ACL for the second time in that same game — followed by a one-year stint in Baltimore that ended with his release last year. None of it changes the math facing Harbaugh's staff this weekend: cut down to 53, and decide whether a 33-year-old with no guaranteed money and a lot of mileage still has a role.
Multiple outlets, including ESPN and NFL Network reporters, picked up Harbaugh's comments within hours, which tells you how much juice is left in the Beckham storyline even at this stage of his career. It's not a promise. It's a coach saying, in essence, the tape settled the argument — now it's just paperwork.
If it holds, Beckham's return would close a loop that started with a Giants uniform in 2014 and wandered through 3 other franchises before landing back where it began. Sunday's deadline will make it real one way or the other.