Getty Free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. responded to a fake report regarding Giants QB Daniel Jones.
Here’s an important tip for New York Giants fans on social media: If you ever see a viral tweet from a “reporter” named Wesley Steinberg, you can safely assume it’s fake news.
Wesley Steinberg is a parody account that tweets fictional Giants news. Former Giants wide receiver and current free agent Odell Beckham Jr. learned that the hard way on Tuesday, after reacting to a viral fake news report.
Here’s the original tweet, followed by Beckham’s response:
@WesSteinberg 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 how in the world does stuff like this get said out loud…what are place we live in
“Odell Beckham Jr. has told the #Giants he would be interested in a return to New York, if QB Daniel Jones is replaced or benched,” the parody account tweeted.
The joke tweet had over 1,200 retweets and 13,000 likes at the time of this publication. While some Giants fans are in on the bit at this point, a lot of the reaction was from people who genuinely fell for the fake news — including Beckham.
“[crying laughing emojis] how in the world does stuff like this get said out loud…what are place we live in,” Beckham replied on Twitter.
Many of the replies to Beckham’s tweet were from Twitter users letting him know that the original tweet came from a troll account.
This is not the first time Twitter has been duped by the Wesley Steinberg account. In 2021, this account falsely reported a ridiculous story about wide receiver/tight end Kelvin Benjamin stealing food from the team facility. In July of this year, the account went viral for an insensitive (and not true) tweet about Jones.
While the tweet from Wesley Steinberg was clearly fake, there’s an increasing amount of smoke surrounding OBJ and a potential return to the Giants.
Has Brian Daboll Been Talking With Odell Beckham Jr.?
On Tuesday, a legitimate NFL reporter — Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network — shared news that Giants head coach Brian Daboll has been in communication with free agent wide receivers through FaceTime. It is well-documented that FaceTime is Daboll’s preferred method of communication.
“I FaceTime to my players all the time,” Daboll said back in April (h/t The Giant Insider Newspaper & Podcast)
Odell Beckham Jr. is just one — and easily the most intriguing — free agent receiver Daboll could potentially be calling. Another is Alex Bachman, who was with the Giants during training camp and led the NFL in receptions during the preseason. Other big names that are still available on the open market include T.Y. Hilton, Will Fuller and DeSean Jackson.
Why the Giants Must Explore Options at Wide Receiver
The reports and rumors about the Giants having interest in Odell Beckham Jr. (and other free agent wide receivers) stem from the team’s concerns at the position. New York’s top two receivers on the depth chart, Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, are struggling to make an impact. Golladay has two catches for 22 yards, while Toney has two catches for zero yards so far this season.
As a result of this inconsistency, Golladay and Toney have experienced reduced playing time. Former practice squad player David Sills is seeing more snaps, and Richie James currently leads the team in both receptions (10) and receiving yards (110).
Adding a player of Beckham’s caliber would help stabilize this shaky unit.