Odell Beckham Jr. stood in front of the New York Giants beat pool on Monday, a humbled man. With his quest to become a Giant again complete, he described how grateful and proud he was to be wearing blue again.
"No matter what, it was on the back of my mind," Beckham said about being named to the Giants' 53-man roster. "I feel like even some of the nerves that I had playing, feeling like, I talked to you about pressure and how I love it, and I thrive off it. But it felt -- that was the first time I felt like in a position where it wasn't like, alright, this is guaranteed. I know I'm going to be here. I know I'm going to -- I've always been dominant. There was a little bit of that pressure, like, ‘Okay, I have to go and get it.'
"I asked for this
opportunity, I have it, and I'm right here just taking that step up. And then, I would say, within the last day, just my family being here, seeing my son at the game, him being like, ‘Dad,’ you know what I mean? And I had that, kind of those tears when I got back to the hotel after figuring out (that) I'm going to be here. And I have an opportunity to rewrite some of the last bit of the chapter.
"Don't know, last year, whatever it is, I just know I'm going to give my all. But definitely had that moment where it was like you could let out some of the pain that I feel like I went through. It was just very healing, very emotional, something I was very happy about."
Almost all of Giants Nation was rooting for Beckham to make it, too. But only if he earned it, which he did.
"I earned the right to be here; this wasn't given to me. I was given the opportunity, but I wasn't given making it here where I'm at. I'm truly happy about it," Beckham said.
The process was a tedious one and came down to the final weekend. But Giants fans of all ages, including in the Mara family, watched Beckham's journey closely.
"Well, John – Mr. Mara – he says his grandsons were super happy," Harbaugh said. "Because they've been kind of asking him every day, ‘Is Odell going to make it? Is Odell going to make it?’ I do think – I think Mr. Mara's happy. He has a great relationship with Odell, and as you said, the people who were here know the whole history.
"For us, it's new; we don't know the Giants' history as much. But it seems to me like the Maras and the people that were here before are excited, are excited for Odell. That's my feeling."
He'll get a hero's welcome when he takes the field September 13, in the Giants' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. But will he be wearing No. 13 instead of No. 3 then? Right now, Jalin Hyatt still has OBJ's famous No. 13, but he's on the practice squad now. A transfer back could be in order.
"I think we all know what that means to me, and there definitely will be some conversations," Beckham said. "I'll just say we'll see what happens, but as I said, it would be an honor and a privilege to put that back on."
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Humbled Odell Beckham Jr. 'earned the right' to be on Giants' roster
