Big Blue View
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Odell Beckham Jr. hesitated, putting a double move on the cornerback, then went streaking down the left sideline during Wednesday’s New York Giants OTA. Quarterback Jameis Winston hoisted a long ball toward Beckham down the left sideline.
This was Beckham’s first 11-on-11 snap in the first practice attended by media since Beckham re-signed with the Giants on Monday. In the storybooks, Beckham makes a spectacular one-handed catch and goes for a touchdown.
This, though, was not a storybook. It was football practice, and Deonte Banks had other plans. The ball, Beckham, Banks and the sideline all came together, with Beckham getting his hands on Winston’s pass, but Banks making sure the ball fell harmlessly to the ground.
Beckham got up slowly and walked back to the offense, holding a towel to his mouth to perhaps dry a little bit of blood.
Later in practice, third-string quarterback Brandon Allen tried to target Beckham across the middle. Instead, he threw the ball right to safety Raheem Layne. Beckham, doing what a wide receiver should do to bail out his quarterback, crashed into Layne and made sure the play was a simple incompletion rather than the interception it should have been.
You could consider these, while not big hits in full pads during a real game, “welcome back to football” moments for Beckham in his second practice since re-signing with the team that made him a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Beckham, remember, was out of football in 2025.
“They hit harder than my son. My son’s been beating me up,” Beckham said. “I think it’s still people don’t want to get beat by me. So, they’re going to make sure that they do what they can.
“But, it feels good. It’s football. It’s definitely been a minute, but it feels good. It’s fun. I’ve been needing it. I’ve been missing it.”
The Beckham that stood in front of New York media on Wednesday was a familiar face. He no longer seems like the brash superstar who dominated the league and used that to become an international celebrity. This was a Beckham who was out of football in 2025 when he did not really want to be, who played just nine games and caught just nine passes in 2024.
This was a Beckham who has not truly been a superstar in a loooong time.
“ I had a lot of time off to … Taking a step away from the game was what was best for me,” said Beckham, who will turn 34 in November. “At a time in my life where you love something so much that it kind of became detrimental, became bad to me. And just being able to take that time off and be with my son and be with family and just reprioritize what was important to me. And knowing that I still love this game so much.
It felt great just being back out there, being back...
