Odell Beckham Jr. Makes Giants' 53-Man Roster at 33
The wide receiver returned to the team where he began his career and survived cuts after three preseason games and a year away from football.
Roster Spot Secured
Odell Beckham Jr. made the New York Giants' 53-man roster submitted Sunday, according to AP News, a milestone in the wide receiver's comeback at 33 with the team he started his NFL career with.
Yahoo Sports reported that National Football League teams can carry as many as 90 players through the preseason but had to cut down to 53 by Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Clubs then begin signing players to their practice squads.
Beckham returned to New York this offseason on a one-year deal. Yahoo Sports describes John Harbaugh as the Giants' new head coach.
Preseason Production
Beckham made seven catches for 76 yards across three preseason games. Yahoo Sports adds that he drew 13 targets over that stretch.
AP News reported that three of those catches, for 53 yards, came in the preseason finale against the New York Jets on Friday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Speaking before the cuts, Harbaugh told reporters in comments carried by Yahoo Sports: "He has done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure. He's played well. He's gotten better as camp's gone along." AP News reported that Harbaugh called the final week of practices Beckham's best.
The Time Away
Beckham was out of football last season, including a six-game suspension for failing a performance-enhancing drug test, AP News reported. His last game was Dec. 8, 2024, with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he played nine games with nine catches for 55 yards before being waived on Dec. 13.
He worked out for the Giants in April and signed in June, acknowledging then that he would have to earn a roster spot. "I feel like I gave everything I had," he said after the Jets game. "It was a tough couple years, taking a step back and deciding, do you go forward with life? Are you done?"
Yahoo Sports noted that Beckham also missed the 2022 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. In his first stint with the Giants he played 59 games and recorded 5,476 yards with 44 touchdowns.
The Receiver Group
The Giants carried 11 wide receivers through the preseason, per Yahoo Sports, and were expected to keep six or seven. Malik Nabers and 2026 third-round pick Malachi Fields were described as locks.
Nabers played only four games last season before tearing his ACL. Yahoo Sports reported that Beckham's remaining competition included Darnell Mooney, Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, Xavier Gipson, Kobe Prentice, Braxton Berrios and Dalen Cambre, and that Beckham likely would not contribute on special teams.
Which of those receivers also survived the cut is not stated in the available reporting.
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