Odell Beckham Jr. clearly wants to be a Giant again — even if the star player he once was traded for no longer did.
Beckham Jr. took a significant step towards what would be one of the most talked-about reunions in NFL history Monday when he worked out for the Giants and underwent a physical in the building, as league sources first told The Post. The visit to East Rutherford is expected to continue Tuesday so Beckham Jr.’s body’s recovery can be assessed.
Beckham Jr. impressed the Giants during the workout but a deal is not considered imminent right now. The sides could revisit a negotiation after the draft.
Beckham Jr. did not play last season and was suspended for six games due to a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
But he did play for new Giants head coach John Harbaugh in 2023 with the Ravens and the two met up last month at the NFL’s owners meetings in Arizona to discuss what a comeback might look like. Harbaugh considers Beckham one of his “favorite” players coached during a decades-long career.
The first hurdle was evaluating what the 33-year-old receiver has left in the tank, which is why the in-person workout was important.
Former Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is a free agent, is getting a physical at the team’s facility on Monday. for the NY POST
It’s also well-timed nostalgia for the Giants fan, who is wound-licking after seeing three-time Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence force a trade to the Bengals.
Lawrence, who was drafted in 2019 with the key asset that the Giants acquired from the Browns in the trade that sent Beckham Jr. to Cleveland, had a Giants tattoo and dreams of being in the franchise’s Ring of Honor.
But a contract dispute turned personal two weeks ago and Lawrence no longer wanted to entertain offers before he was dealt to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick in the draft and signed a one-year, $28 million extension.
John Harbaugh coached Odell Beckham Jr. in Baltimore. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Giants and Beckham Jr. have been through the back-together dance before. He visited the Giants’ building during the 2022 season — when the Giants were making a playoff run — but nothing came of it.
Beckham Jr. last played for the 2024 Dolphins, totaling nine catches in nine games.
Lower-body injuries have robbed him of much of the explosiveness that put him on a Hall of Fame track during his first three seasons (2014-16), but he still has the incredible hands that made him a viral sensation as recently seen during a flag football game at the Fanatics Classic.
It’s hard to imagine that anything the Giants plan to do in the draft — including possibly a top-10 pick on Jordyn Tyson — would be affected by adding Beckham Jr. on a no-risk contract. And it seems unlikely that Beckham Jr. would be deterred by the addition of another receiver given it does not appear that he is flooded with options.
Beckham Jr.’s return would add juice to OTAs and West Virginia-based training. He would be an interesting choice to mentor Malik Nabers — a fellow LSU alum reaching stardom — and perhaps Tyson, who scouts often compare to Beckham for his electric movements.