Giants HC John Harbaugh Leaves Door Open for Potential Reunion with WR Odell Beckham Jr

Harbaugh spoke glowingly of the one-time Giants receiver.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and head coach John Harbaugh in 2023 after Beckham signed with the Baltimore Ravens. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has played for both the New York Giants and for head coach John Harbaugh, though at two different points in his career.

And the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft, who was traded away just one year after having signed a contract extension back in the summer of 2018, has made no secret of his desire to reunite with the team where his career started.

So what does Harbaugh, who had Beckham for the 2023 season, think about the possibility of making that happen?

“The obvious answer would be to look at every option, right?” Harbaugh said on Monday morning at the annual head coaches breakfast/media session at the league meetings.

“Odell’s an option. We'll be looking at it for sure.”

There are pros to adding Beckham, who has seemingly come a long way maturity-wise since his days with the Giants.

The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro is also a Super Bowl champion and could bring that mindset to the culture Harbaugh is trying to build with the Giants.

Beckham also remains a fan favorite whose return could further stoke the excitement the fan base is already feeling with Harbaugh’s arrival.

Harbaugh confessed that he and Beckham, whom he called “one of my very favorite people,” still stay in touch.

But just as there are pros to a reunion, there are also cons that have stacked up against anything other than Beckham signing a one-day contract to retire as a Giant.

For one, the 33-year-old Beckham was out of football last year after a lackluster stint with the Miami Dolphins.

There is also a matter of whether the Giants would be better off spending on Beckham, a Pro Bowl-level receiver in his prime, or if they’d be better off putting a receiver on a rookie deal.

And then there is a matter of all the other receivers the Giants signed to one-year deals, including Calvin Austin III and Darnell Mooney.

Given those factors, it appears to be a long shot for the Giants and Beckham to have any sort of reunion for the upcoming season, though Harbaugh, perhaps out of politeness and respect for Beckham, didn’t rule it out.

“We just have to see where it all goes,” he said. “You know, what's best for him, what's best for the Giants. That's the number one thing.

“If he helps you be a better team and can make you better, then you're gonna pursue that. So I just have to see where that goes.”

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