The New York Giants have been busy in the wake of their Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans. On Monday, the team swung a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, giving it another layer of depth at the quarterback position. 24 hours later, New York released fan favorite wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in an unexpected move.
While Beckham suited up for each of the Giants‘ first three games, he failed to record a single reception, but still, his release came as a shock to folks across the league. Now that he’s gone, though, the front office has already lined up his replacement, as it quickly made a corresponding roster move involving Braxton Berrios.
Giants Sign Braxton Berrios to Active Roster After Releasing Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham’s return to the Giants was one of the top storylines of the summer surrounding this team, as he enjoyed a standout start to his career with the team before venturing elsewhere. While he isn’t the All-Pro caliber player he once was, the expectation was that Beckham would be a secondary target who younger players like Malik Nabers could lean on for advice.
Instead, Beckham was curiously uninvolved on offense, even when Jameis Winston took over for the injured Jaxson Dart (Beckham was one of Winston’s favorite targets over the summer during training camp). In a sense, the writing was on the wall, but given how much excitement Beckham’s return generated, it was a bit stunning to see him come and go without making much of an impact.
Now that he’s gone, New York has a spot open on its roster, which would ideally be used on a wide receiver. Sure enough, the team quickly decided to sign Berrios, who has spent the beginning of the year on the practice squad, to the active roster after he was elevated to the roster for each of the team’s first three games of the year.
Giants are signing veteran WR Braxton Berrios to their active roster,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Giants Shake Up Wide Receiver Depth Chart Ahead of Week 4
A player can only be elevated from the practice squad to the active roster three times, so if the Giants wanted to add him to the active roster, they would either have to sign him or release him and then re-sign him to the practice squad, assuming he didn’t get scooped up by another team. New York decided to sign Berrios, and the player it moved on from in order to make room for him just so happened to be Beckham.
What the future holds for Beckham is unknown, but his second stint with New York ended up being rather irrelevant when all was said and done, despite the hype that came with it. The Giants, in the meantime, will continue focusing on their preparations for their upcoming Week 4 action against the Arizona Cardinals.
Giants Make Roster Move for Odell Beckham Jr.’s Replacement After Recent Release