There’s been a lot of buzz around Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to the New York Giants after a year of inactivity in football. John Harbaugh noted late last month that he’s open to the possibility of bringing the free agent wide receiver and the rumors have gone widespread ever since.
Beckham’s potential return to New York was discussed on “The Arena: Gridiron” podcast on Friday, with Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward holding different opinions. Talib, a former NFL cornerback who played with Tom Brady at the New England Patriots, didn’t welcome the idea.
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Talib: “O is 33 years old, but if you know anything about O, you know he work hard as f**k. He is probably in tremendous shape. But me? I wouldn’t do it. I need young juice. I need young juice.”
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Ward: “I disagree with my dog. Who got more gas than Odell? I don’t know if you ask me right now, even at 33. There’s few players that got gas in hands like Odell Beckham, man.”
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Talib: “He’s not that Odell no more.”
Ward: “Why not? He got hurt, came back from injury, had half of a thousand yards, 16 yards per catch.”
Talib: “It’s a good way to make it sound good, ‘a half of a thousand.’”
Odell Beckham Jr. last played for the Miami Dolphins during the 2024 season, and it was an uneventful tenure with just nine receptions for 55 yards in nine games. He was waived by the team in December after he was just activated from the practice squad in October.
Skip Bayless offers his take on Odell Beckham Jr.’s Giants return rumors
Skip Bayless provided his unfiltered opinion on the buzz around Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to the Giants on “The Arena: Gridiron” podcast. While the veteran analyst believes it’s an exciting prospect to have him back in New York, he doesn’t see it leading to anything meaningful.
“Odell Beckham Jr. was legendary, and he’s been hurt and hurt and hurt some more because he’s had both the left ACL twice,” Bayless said. “He broke his ankle. He’s had multiple shoulder AC joint issues. Took a lot of punishment for a long time.
“Would you want him around to help Nabers? To be a kind of mentor to Nabers? Yeah, I guess that would work. And it’d be a great story to have him back, because in New York, he is iconic. So would that be fun to have him around? Yeah, it would, until opening day, and then now it’s time to go play football. I just don’t think he has a whole lot left.”
In his previous tenure with the Giants, Odell Beckham Jr. recorded 390 receptions for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns over five seasons. While he’s not expected to be at the top of his game, he would bring a veteran presence to the wide receiver room if the Giants bring him back.
Edited by Farouk Yusuf
