Giants Still Hoping for Odell Beckham Reunion and Other Takeaways from League Meetings

Talk of the Giants reuniting with Odell Beckham Jr refuses to die, despite all the odds against it happening.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 28, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Despite having handed out contracts to six receivers this off-season, there is room for at least one more free agent on the New York Giants roster if general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll can make it work.

That receiver would be Odell Beckham Jr, whom Giants co-owner John Mara continues to leave the door open. Speaking to reporters at the annual league meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, Mara confirmed that there is still hope of a reunion with the team’s first-round draft pick from 2014.

“We certainly haven’t closed that door,” Mara said of Beckham, per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. “I would be in favor of that.”

Beckham, who missed last season while recovering from his second ACL injury, has been searching for a new team to call home. Late last year, he went on a mini free-agent tour, despite being unable to work out, with visits to the Giants, Dallas, and Buffalo.

The Cowboys have since acquired Brandin Cooks via trade, suggesting that they’re now out of the running for Beckham’s services. The Giants are currently listed with just $550,519 of effective cap space and $3,503,642 in total cap space, making any signing of Beckham, who is looking for more than $4 million per season, a dream.

Recently, the Jets have emerged as another interested party in the Beckham sweepstakes. The Jets, who are trying to work out the details of a trade for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, have been trying to beef up their offense this off-season.

The idea of a Beckham – Giants reunion is a happy thought, but it’s just not practical, no matter how much anyone from the team tries to will it into existence.

If Beckham wants more than $4 million per year despite his two ACL injuries, including the most recent of which kept him out of the game last year, he will need to be more realistic.

He might have had an impressive workout a few weeks back, but that workout was largely done without football gear and, per reports, with very little resistance from opponents pulling at tugging at him.

The Giants' formula thus far has been to take fliers on low-risk, high-reward veterans as they continue building via the draft. Though they did make a couple of splashes with linebacker Bobby Okereke and the trade for tight end Darren Waller, they need to stick to that plan and not get swept up in the past.

Giants Expecting Leonard Williams Back

Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams is set to carry a $32 million cap hit for 2023, making him the top figure on the Giants books. While some speculated that the Giants might move on from him if he balked at redoing his contract, the notion of having Williams take a pay cut never made any sense, nor did cutting him make sense.

“If his cap number is high, his cash, if he doesn’t miss any games, I don’t think it’s out of whack," Schoen said. "We’ll try to figure it out. But to go to one of your better players and say, ‘Take a pay cut,’ and you don’t have any leverage, we’re probably not going to. "

Nor should they. Despite having dealt with injuries the last two seasons (including last year when he missed his first career games), Williams is still a key part of the Giants' defense and someone the team would like to continue seeing paired with Dexter Lawrence for the foreseeable future.

Williams’s camp no doubt knows this, which is why it probably would reject any attempt by the Giants for him to give back any money, a tactic typically done by teams with a player coming off injury.

If the Giants wish to lower Williams’s cap hit, they will have to see about a short-term extension allowing them to gain some much-needed cap space.

"We like Leonard," Schoen said. "We haven’t had any conversations with him. I know he made that comment (about taking a pay cut). We kind of joke about it, but we haven’t approached him about anything.”

Speaking of defensive linemen, Schoen confirmed that the team has had discussions with Lawrence about an extension.

“We’ve had good conversations with the representatives,” Schoen said. “Probably Friday was the last time we were in contact with him. We’re in negotiations. And we’ll see if we can get something done.”

If they can, that will provide the Giants with some breathing space on their cap.

Center of Attention

The Giants will have a new starting center this season after losing Jon Feliciano to the 49ers in free agency.

The question is who. Nick Gates, who would have been the logical replacement, signed with Washington even before Feliciano agreed to terms with the 49ers on a one-year deal.

Those moves seem to underscore that the Giants will be looking to acquire a center in this year’s draft, which would be prudent.

In the interim, Schoen told reporters Ben Bredeson, Shane Lemieux, and Jack Anderson, all of whom are on the roster, are options despite limited experience in regular-season games at the position.

Bredeson played 30 snaps at the position last year. Anderson played all his snaps at guard last season but did play 50 snaps at center the year prior. Lemieux, who has missed the last two seasons with injuries, has practiced at center but has yet to take a regular-season snap at the position.

Schoen also mentioned the possibility of signing a free agent—the team reportedly hosted a visit with Steelers unrestricted free agent center J.C. Hassenauer. The Giants could also be waiting to see what happens with Ryan Kelly of the Colts, who, per ESPN, is on his way out either via a trade or release.

Again, with the Giants currently having less than a million in effective cap space, the center position is one they might have to put on hold until the draft.