EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh said Saturday that while he has had “three or four” conversations with Odell Beckham Jr. over the past week, no deal between the team and the Giants’ 2014 first-round draft pick is imminent.
“The goal for right now is for him to train and get as ready as he can be,” Harbaugh said. “Then we’ll see where we’re at at that time.”
Beckham, 33, did not play in the NFL last season. In 2024, Beckham caught just nine passes in nine games with
the Miami Dolphins.
Injuries and age have slowed Beckham, who is not the same player who electrified New York from 2014-2018, with four 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his first five NFL seasons.
Harbaugh said he and Beckham have had “an honest conversation” about him joining the Giants.
“It’s got to be right for both parties,” Harbaugh said. “Odell wants to be the kind of player that can make a difference.
“I’m pretty sure that he can make a team in the National Football League right now. Can he make a difference? Is it something he wants to do? Is his body going to hold up the way he wants it to?
“All those things are questions that need to get answered for anybody at that age.”
Harbaugh said Beckham believes the answers to those questions are all affirmative.
“You know Odell. He’s confident. He’s working hard. He believes in himself,” Harbaugh said. “I think we’ll just play it out over the next month and into training camp and see where we’re at.”
The takeaway
Harbaugh and the Giants don’t appear convinced that Beckham can be better than the top four or five wide receivers they have, that he can stay healthy, and that he would be willing to handle a small, part-time role.
It looks like the Giants will continue to evaluate what they have over the next few weeks as OTAs and mandatory minicamp take place, then perhaps revisit the idea of signing Beckham based on health and performance this summer.
