The Baltimore Ravens are losing another former player to their former head coach on the New York Giants, with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. agreeing to a contract with his old team and head coach John Harbaugh on Monday.
“Reunion: The Giants are bringing back WR Odell Beckham Jr, as their former standout returns,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account. “Beckham, 33, recently worked out again for the team that drafted him, paid him, then traded him. Now, he’s back with NYG and John Harbaugh … With the Giants, Odell Beckham Jr had 390 receptions, 5,476 yards and 44 TDs – including one of the greatest catches of all time. Now, he returns for more in perhaps the last stop of his career.”
Beckham wasn’t the only veteran wide receiver the Giants signed on Monday, following the signing of former NFL All-Pro return specialist and wide receiver Braxton Berrios.
“My understanding is Odell Beckham Jr. had to earn and prove his way onto the Giants’ roster, and by all accounts he crushed both of his workouts with the team,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account on Monday. “OBJ and John Harbaugh have remained close, and once everything checked out, it was time to bring him back where he belongs — in blue.”
OBJ Hasn’t Played in NFL Since 2024
Beckham played for the Ravens in 2023 and last played in the NFL in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins. He became a superstar in the 1st 5 seasons of his career with the Giants, who selected him in the 1st round (No. 12 overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.
“I for one think at this point in his career, and everything OBJ has been through, it could be really good for Malik Nabers in his young career to have Odell in the locker room,” Bleacher Report’s James Palmer wrote on his official X account. “There isn’t anything Beckham hasn’t experienced as a young star in NY and I for one hope that mentorship is extremely productive for Nabers.”
Beckham, a former 2-time NFL All-Pro, had just 9 receptions for 55 yards and no touchdowns in 9 games for the Dolphins in 2024 while playing on a 1-year, $3 million contract.
OBJ was drafted in the first round (No. 12 overall) by the Giants in the 2014 NFL draft out of LSU and shot to fame as a rookie for a 1-handed touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys — a game the Giants actually lost — that landed his jersey from that day in a display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Journeyman Career for OBJ After Leaving Giants
While Beckham signed a 5-year, $90 million contract extension with the Giants in August 2018, he was sent away within a year thanks to a trade with the Cleveland Browns in April 2019.
Beckham had his last 1,000-yard receiving season with the Browns in 2019, missed 9 games in 2020 and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams midway through the 2021 season. He helped lead the Rams to a win in Super Bowl LVI but tore his ACL midway through the game and sat out all of 2022.
Beckham played 2023 on a 1-year, $15 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens and only had 35 receptions for 565 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Former Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. Signs With NFC Team