It took until June 1, but the New York Giants finally signed former Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham, who hasn’t played since 2024, attended a workout for free agent receivers on Monday. The Giants lost Gunner Olszewski to a torn Achilles tendon, while Malik Nabers (knee) and Darius Slayton (sports hernia surgery) remain out.
The Giants formally announced Beckham's signing on Monday afternoon. Former Jets receiver Braxton Berrios is also joining the Giants.
However, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio pointed out on Sunday, Beckham isn’t guaranteed to start, much less even make the Giants’ roster.
Given his age and inefficiency in recent years, it is unclear whether Beckham settled for the veteran’s minimum. If so, the Giants could easily part ways with Beckham without suffering a serious financial hit.
“That’s the real question,” Florio wrote. “Does he simply want to be on the team? Does he want to be on the field most of the time? Is he expecting to get a lot of passes thrown his way?”
Barring further injuries, offseason signees Calvin Austin and Darnell Mooney would likely start if Nabers and Slayton cannot go in Week 1. However, Slayton is expected to be ready for training camp.
The Giants also drafted Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields in April.
The Odell Beckham Jr.-Giants speculation lingered for far too long
The fact that we reached June and were still talking about the Giants possibly signing Beckham had advanced far beyond the point of absurdity.
Typically, we don’t see these kinds of prolonged rumors involving skill players. Thankfully, not everyone is Aaron Rodgers.
Perhaps the most notable recent exception came in the fall of 2020, when social media and NFL insiders regularly floated the idea of teams signing controversial free agent receiver Antonio Brown.
The constant Beckham talk is almost as ridiculously frustrating, largely because Beckham is far more irrelevant as a player than Brown was.
Brown went unsigned until late October because he needed to serve an eight-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The Buccaneers added Brown, who played a pivotal role en route to an eventual Super Bowl title.
Let’s not forget, though, that Brown was two years removed from a 104-catch, 1,297-yard, and 15-touchdown season for the Steelers.
Beckham hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2019, and he’s a backup receiver at best.
All of this admittedly sounds harsh, and it’s nothing against Beckham as a player or a person.
The NFL is a business, though, and the only thing that Beckham is good for is clicks.
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