Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is reuniting with the team that drafted him more than a decade ago, signing a one-year contract with the New York Giants, the team announced Monday.
The 33-year-old worked out for the Giants on Monday morning alongside a handful of veteran receivers that included JuJu Smith-Schuster, Braxton Berrios and Anthony Miller. It turned out to be a fruitful workout, because along with Beckham, the Giants also signed Smith-Schuster and Berrios to one-year deals, a league source told The Athletic.
The three of them will help bolster a wide receiver group that has been beset by injuries, including those to Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and Gunner Olszewski. Entering the day, the Giants were down to nine healthy receivers with seven practices scheduled over the next 10 days. Simply put, they needed healthy bodies. Now they have them.
Ready for Odell’s return 😤 pic.twitter.com/ZeFeUylYlT
— New York Giants (@Giants) June 1, 2026
Beckham, the Giants’ 2014 first-round pick, had previously worked out for the Giants and underwent a physical in the week leading up to the NFL Draft, but no move was made. In his post-draft press conference, coach John Harbaugh said Beckham “looked good” and that the two sides would continue to remain in touch.
“It’s got to be right for both parties,” said Harbaugh, who coached Beckham in Baltimore in 2023, during rookie minicamp. “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, but can he make a difference? It’s something he wants to do. Is his body going to hold up in the way he wants it to, and all those things are questions that need to get answered for anybody at that age.
“You know Odell. He’s confident, man. He’s confident. He’s working hard. He believes in himself. I think we’ll just play it out over the next month and into training camp and see where we’re at.”
Before officially joining the team Monday, Beckham spent quality time with his future teammates at Brian Burns’ celebrity charity softball game over the weekend. While Beckham did not speak with members of the media, Burns said he would be thrilled if the veteran receiver returned to New York.
“I think he would be a great teammate,” Burns said. “I grew up a little bit watching him. He’s definitely a dog. Over the years, just being around each other, being in the same circles, we crossed paths a couple times and had some conversations, so I think it’d be great to have him in the locker room.”
Odell Beckham Jr. is in the building #giants pic.twitter.com/luYgeEM3AX
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) May 30, 2026
The Giants selected Beckham with the 12th pick of the 2014 draft, and he immediately emerged as a game-changer in his first year in the league, securing 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Beckham made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams during his five-year stint in New York before he was traded to the Cleveland Browns following the 2018 season. After a tumultuous 2019 campaign in Cleveland, Beckham tore his ACL in 2020 and was waived midseason in 2021. He quickly landed in Los Angeles, where he helped the Rams win the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Beckham tore his ACL for a second time during the second half of that win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Beckham missed the 2022 season while recovering before joining Harbaugh in Baltimore, where he hauled in 35 passes for 565 yards (his most in a season since 2019) and three touchdowns during the 2023 season. Beckham played nine games in Miami in 2024 and remained unsigned last season as he served a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
I don’t see the downside to the Giants bringing back the ain’t-what-he-used-to-be Odell Beckham Jr. He still has talent, know-how, and an understanding of John Harbaugh, a strong enough coach to have that tough conversation with OBJ down the road if things aren’t working out. https://t.co/TAXGwfgdLk
— Ian O’Connor (@Ian_OConnor) June 1, 2026
While Beckham likely won’t be the No. 1 receiver he was a decade ago, he adds an interesting option to the group that features star Nabers, Slayton, Smith-Schuster, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III and Berrios, as well as third-round rookie Malachi Fields.
The additions of Beckham, Berrios and Smith-Schuster help address a depleted Giants receiver room. Along with losing Olszewski to a torn Achilles during OTAs last week, Nabers is still rehabbing from a torn ACL and meniscus, leaving his availability for the start of the season in question. Nabers recently had a second surgery to remove scar tissue from his knee.
“The goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp,” Harbaugh said of Nabers’ timeline. “That would be the goal. We’ll see what happens. If he’s out there, great. If he’s not out there, great. We’ll be ready to go either way.”
Meanwhile, Slayton recently underwent surgery for a core muscle injury, which is expected to sideline him through the spring.
Of the group of veteran receivers who worked out for the team Monday, Berrios’ skill set is the closest match to Olszewski’s. Berrios, 30, has plenty of similarities to Olszewski, as they both began their careers in New England (Berrios was a 2018 sixth-round pick; Olszewski was an undrafted rookie in 2019).
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Berrios found success as a returner after getting cut by the Patriots after one season and landing with the Jets in 2019. Berrios was named a first-team All-Pro in 2021 after averaging 13.4 yards per punt return and 30.4 yards per kickoff return, highlighted by a 102-yard kick return touchdown. The 6-foot, 190-pound Olszewski was a first-team All-Pro for the Patriots in 2020 after averaging an NFL-high 17.3 yards per punt return and 23.2 yards per kickoff return.
Berrios, who has primarily lined up in the slot, has more career production as a receiver than Olszewski. Berrios set career highs with 46 catches for 431 yards for the Jets in 2021. The 30-year-old’s production has tailed off in recent seasons. Berrios suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 of the 2024 season while a member of the Dolphins. He appeared in just four games last season for the Texans as he dealt with a hamstring injury early in the season and then was buried on the depth chart.
Berrios enters a punt return competition that includes Austin and Xavier Gipson.
As for Smith-Schuster, he arrives in New York after spending the past two seasons as a supplementary option in Kansas City. He tallied 51 receptions for 567 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs during the 2024-25 seasons. He also won a Super Bowl with the team in 2022, catching 78 passes for 933 yards and three scores that season before departing for New England for the 2023 campaign.
