Odell Beckham Jr. Makes Giants' Initial 53-man Roster

Odell Beckham Jr. will make the Giants' 53-man roster for the 2026 NFL season.

The veteran wide receiver, signed in early June, was seen as having an outside chance to make the roster, but after proving he could remain healthy and with receiver Calvin Austin sustaining a torn ACL during practice last week, the veteran will be back with Big Blue for the first time since the 2018 season, as first reported by ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

Beckham, the 12th overall pick by New York in the 2014 NFL Draft, said on Friday that making this roster would mean "everything" to him.

"Everything," the 33-year-old said. "Seeing my son at the game, yelling, just looking at me, and he told one of his friends, like, 'Yeah, people always want to take a picture with my dad. He must be the best,' you know, and it just made me laugh because I'm like -- I just want to show him. I want to lead the way. I want to be a good example for him, a good man. I've grown so much, and it would mean everything to me if I made it."

Head coach John Harbaugh said after Friday's game the veteran "played well" during the preseason and had "done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure."

"Got open. Just a fingernail away from that completion and maybe a step away from a touchdown, so he looked good out there," the first-year Giants HC said.

Beckham, who previously played under Harbaugh during the 2023 season in Baltimore, where the WR hauled in 64 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns, said the coach's answer was "great to hear."

"Just simply focusing on having the opportunity -- like, it means a lot to me -- and tried and I gave my best," the WR said. "It feels great to be back in that stadium. It's just so many good times, hard times, things that made me a man. And I'm pleased with what I did, but always looking for more."

Beckham said he felt like he gave it everything he had to make the roster and was "grateful for the opportunity."

"Know that I have a good feeling about myself. I feel like there's ball to be played, there's plays to be made and, right now, I'm just truly grateful for that opportunity, that experience," he said. "It was a tough couple of years, taking a step back and deciding to go forward with life -- are you done, the mental battles that we go through -- and just push through, persevere and overcome adversity and just, like I said, I'm truly grateful."

Beckham, who did not sign with a team during the 2025 season, last appeared in a game on Dec. 8, 2024, during an ill-fated one-year stint with Miami that saw him tally just nine catches for 55 yards and no touchdowns in nine games before he was released. He went unsigned despite speculation of joining a playoff-bound team later that year.

A three-time Pro-Bowler with the Giants, he played 59 games during his five seasons with the team and was the Offensive Rookie of the Year when he hauled in 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a memorable one-handed grab on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys during his debut season in 2014. 

Beckham tallied 5,476 yards on 390 receptions (14.0 yards per reception) with 44 touchdowns during his first stint in New York. He signed a five-year, $95 million extension with the Giants in August ahead of the 2018 season, but was then dealt to Cleveland in March 2019 along with Olivier Vernon in exchange for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, and a first- and third-round draft pick. (The Giants used the first-round pick to select Dexter Lawrence.)

Beckham’s time with the Browns was mixed and he was traded to Los Angeles in the middle of the 2021 season, helping the Rams win a title that year. After a 113-yard day in the NFC Championship Game, Beckham had 52 yards on two catches and a touchdown during the first half of the Super Bowl before sustaining a torn ACL.

Over his 10 seasons, he totaled 7,987 yards on 575 catches (13.9 yards per catch) with 59 touchdowns. He added another 29 catches for 350 yards (12.1 yards per catch) and two touchdowns in seven career postseason games.