Giants Owner Says Team Would Gladly Welcome Back Odell Beckham, Jr.
Is Odell Beckham, Jr. heading back to the Giants as ludicrous as it sounds? Apparently not, considering Giants co-owner John Mara is giving his front office the OK to pursue and sign OBJ.
At the NFL owners' meeting in Phoenix, Mara spoke about Beckham's free agency frenzy with NFL reporters. The Giants have been mentioned as suitors interested in landing the 30-year-old wideout, a re-teaming since Beckham left New York in 2019.
Despite having lost some momentum in the OBJ sweepstakes, the Giants are still interested, according to Mara.
“We certainly haven’t closed that door,’’ Mara said. “That’s going to be up to Joe and Dabs . I certainly would be in favor of that if they can make it work. That’s always the trick.’’
Rumors around OBJ's next contract have suggested that Beckham is looking for $20 million per year in his new contract. The wideout has spoken out saying he’s not setting the bar at $20 million but still wants to get paid like top talent.
Though the G-Men are still short of a true No. 1 wideout, general manager Joe Schoen has been more of a bargain shopper at WR rather than splurging on players. Schoen's best acquisition of the offseason (so far) was nabbing Raider TE Darren Waller from the Raiders, which only demanded a third-rounder from NY.
While OBJ’s return to New York could surely spark intrigue, it’s more of a luxury move for the Giants.
(Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
Beckham had real star power with the New York Giants from 2014 to 2018, not only gaining top-5 recognition at his position but building a fandom based on his erratic personality. Beckham pushed the Giants to ship him away, prompting his trade to the Browns. After their break-up, the Giants and Beckham seemed unlikely to ever reunite, until now.
OBJ joined Cleveland with the Giants' trade. He eventually landed on the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Beckham suffered an ACL tear during Super Bowl LVI in Feb. 2022 but was still crowned a Super Bowl champ with LA.
Team refused to sign Odell during the season to allow him to keep rehabbing the ACL injury.
Giants GM Joe Schoen said the G-Men will continue to keep an eye on OBJ.
“We’ll continue, not just Odell, players across all positions we’ll continue to look at,’’ Schoen said. “You can get creative with the cap if you need to. If there’s a player out there we think will help us, we’ll always look into those if it makes sense.’’
New York re-signed multiple WRs this offseason, including Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton and veteran Sterling Shepard. The Giants also added wideouts Jamison Crowder and Parris Campbell in free agency.
If the Giants don't sign Odell Beckham, expect Schoen and the Giants' front office to locate their best wideout in the upcoming NFL Draft.
(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)