Training camp and preseason are in the books after the New York Giants beat the host New York Jets 23-6 on Friday night. It has been enough for coach John Harbaugh to realize Odell Beckham Jr. belongs back in the NFL.
Beckham had just nine catches with the Miami Dolphins in 2024 and was out of the league last season. He signed with the Giants in the spring under the premise that he had to earn his spot on the team.
He appears to have done so after a strong summer and preseason finale.
“Yes, he has done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “He’s played well. He’s gotten better as camp’s gone along. He deserves credit for that. He’s done a really good job with it.”
Beckham had three catches for 53 yards against the Jets. It could have been much more.
He was wide open behind the defense for a likely 73-yard touchdown if backup quarterback Jameis Winston had hit him in stride during the second quarter. Instead, the ball jarred loose after Beckham made an all-out dive.
The ball fell to the ground for an incompletion even though Beckham hit 20.54 mph on the play and left his defender in the dust. It was the second-fastest speed recorded by a player on a non-special teams play in the contest.
It was a speed that Beckham said he has hit throughout the summer. He insists he can get to 21 mph soon.
The former Pro Bowl wide receiver now waits to see if he will stay with the Giants. The deadline for teams to make final cuts is 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
“It would mean everything to me if I made it,” Beckham said.
He added: “Seeing my [4-year-old] son at the game yelling and just looking at me, he told one of his friends, ‘People always want to take a picture with my dad. He must be the best.’ It just made me laugh because I want to show him, lead the way. I want to be a good example for him, be a good man. I love him so much.”
It has been quite the roller-coaster ride for the Giants’ 2014 first-round pick. But it has come full circle a dozen years later with Beckham likely to make the Giants roster.
Harbaugh didn’t want to start naming all the players who would make the roster, but it did seem like he was leaning in favor of keeping Beckham. The new Giants coach said earlier in the week that Beckham had his “best week” of camp at just the right time with a decision due over the weekend.
Beckham, 33, signed with the Giants in the spring. It came after a long flirtation that included a pair of workouts.
Harbaugh and the Giants needed to see that Beckham was healthy and capable of still playing at this level. Harbaugh laid it out clearly that Beckham needed to earn his spot.
Beckham hasn’t missed a practice this summer. He proved capable of consistently creating separation and getting open. And he’s done it with the Giants, the place where it all started.
“I feel like I gave everything I’ve had. Super grateful for the opportunity. At this point, it’s in God’s hands,” he said. “I know that I have a good feeling about myself. I feel like there is ball to be played, plays to be made. Right now, I’m just truly grateful for that opportunity and experience. It was a tough couple years, taking a step back and deciding whether to move forward with life. Are you done? The mental battles that we go through and just push through, persevere and overcome adversity, like I said, I’m truly grateful.”
