The drama surrounding NFL teams and their current pursuits of free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. would be an incredible plot for an off-Broadway play. After nearly nine months of speculation, it appears within the next week Beckham will have a new home.
The belief has been that that the Buffalo Bills, San Fransisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and the NY Giants were the five teams competing for his services.
However, news changes quickly in the NFL. A new twist in the Beckham free agency saga indicates that not only are the Giants still alive in the sweepstakes, but this all could come down to them and one other (hated) team.
Ian tracked down an Odell confidant
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) November 15, 2022
‘I’d flip a coin between New York and Dallas. It’s tight. But of all the teams I’ve heard about, the one that really resonates a little bit more is New York.’ #cowboys #giants https://t.co/YD1uyw2JM8
Odell Beckham Jr. very well could end up returning to the Giants
In this latest twist, Ian O’Connor of the New York Post spoke to Beckham’s high school football coach Nelson Stewart and asked him to put 10 bucks on the team the WR would sign with.
"“If I’m a betting man right now,” Stewart told The New York Post, “I’d flip a coin between New York and Dallas. It’s tight. But of all the teams I’ve heard about, the one that really resonates a little bit more is New York. And you can certainly say the Giants have the most intrigue with Odell’s old coach.”"
If you derive what Stewart is saying, he seems to indicate that the Giants may be slightly ahead in the race. One thing to remember about Beckham is that he attended Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, the same high school Eli Manning attended and the school Eli’s nephew Arch Manning currently attends. Stewart has connections to both OBJ and the Manning family, so it would be fair to assume he has connections within the Giants organization.
In this case, who doesn’t like storybook endings? During the bye week Saquon Barkley, the face of the NY Giants, attended Beckham’s 30th birthday party in Los Angeles, and we certainly hope he did some recruiting.
Saquon Barkley smiled when the Cowboys’ recruitment of Odell Beckham Jr. was brought up today.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) November 11, 2022
Says he saw Micah Parsons’ pitch to @obj.
Asked why he hasn’t gone there yet on social media, @saquon smirked:
“I don’t have to tweet at him.” #Giants
This might just be the perfect indication that the Giants are the leaders for the former Pro-Bowler and that the Cowboys are running second, forced to desperately plead for him to join their dysfunctional franchise instead of returning on home.
The Giants undoubtedly need Beckham more than any team left in the hunt, and come on, No. 13 was made for the Big Apple. There is no better city in the world to rebuild your image and financial value than New York City, and with the Giants firmly entrenched in the NFC playoff picture, Odell will get a chance to play in the league’s biggest games.
On the Giants side, Beckham feels like a must. After the Eagles 32-21 loss to the Commanders on Monday night, the G-Men are just one game back of Philly for first place in the NFC East. Big Blue is also just one game back in the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, and they control their own destiny for that coveted first-round bye, as NY still has three games left against Philadelphia and Minnesota, the two teams currently tied for first.
After Giants fans were forced to watch Kenny Golladay have another rough go last Sunday, it’s clear he’s not going to be a reliable option for the Giants offense. The same can’t be said about Beckham. This is a coin flip general manager Joe Schoen must hope he wins.