With the NFL season kicking into high gear, all the attention this week has turned to free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and according to a rumor circulating, he wants to reunite with the New York Giants.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said on Saturday that based on his observations, it would appear that Beckham Jr. would like to return to New York to potentially be a key factor in their current playoff push as well as for future seasons.
“Odell [Beckham Jr.] wants to be a Giant. The lure of coming to [New York], making it a home for his family and winning in this city is enticing. There’s unfinished [business]. It’s matter of if Giants want to pay him [the amount of money] he wants.”
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan via Twitter
Despite recovering from a torn ACL suffered in last year’s Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, Beckham Jr. would provide an immediate impact to a Giants team that is incredibly decimated at the wide receiver position, and the Giants will do everything they can to reunite with the guy they drafted 12th overall back in 2014.
The Giants currently have very little playmaking among their receivers, largely due to injuries, of course.
Beckham Jr. would give quarterback Daniel Jones a legitimate downfield target to help largely improve a passing game that ranks near the bottom of the NFL.
The Giants are currently in playoff position without Beckham Jr., entering Sunday at 7-4, which was largely unexpected coming into the season, which makes New York, along with the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, the main front runners in the sweepstakes to sign the star wideout.
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The New York Giants are a perfect spot for Odell Beckham Jr. to land:
The opportunity to play in a big stage like New York on a team that has rebuilt a winning culture, as well as the past ties with the organization, makes the destination even more desirable for Beckham Jr., all of which are factors that could sway him to sign with the Giants.
The Giants held their official free-agent meeting with Beckham Jr. on Thursday and concluded it on Friday. New York first-year head coach Brian Daboll stayed mum on the details of the meeting but indicated that it went according to plan, a potential sign of good things to come between the two parties.
“We had a good visit,” Daboll said. “Other than that, I have nothing else to add. I’m focusing on [a game against] Washington.”
Brian Daboll on his visit with Odell Beckham Jr. via New York Post
One of Beckham Jr.’s former teammates still currently with the Giants, injured wide receiver Sterling Shepard, spoke highly about a potential reunion with the three-time pro bowler (all appearances with the Giants).
Shepard has a bitterly relatable scenario compared to Beckham Jr., as he also suffered a torn ACL, which occurred in Week 3 this season, and is also currently rehabbing the injury.
He expressed how much he would love for the former LSU prodigy to return to New York as well as return as teammates.
“I told him, ‘It would be a special thing if you come back here. The city would be happy about that and it would be like old times,” Shepard said. “[Beckham Jr.] was like, ‘You’re dang right about that.’”
Sterling Shepherd via New York Post
As the Beckham Jr. sweepstakes intensify, everyone around the league is watching where the star receiver will land. Only time will tell if Beckham will ultimately reunite with the Giants like he is rumored to want to sign with.
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