Former Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. Joins Vikings Practice Squad

After being released by the Giants, Odell Beckham Jr. joins the Vikings' practice squad in search of a more defined role.

Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has signed with the Vikings practice squad. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has a new home for the foreseeable future.

Beckham has signed with the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad, where he will seek a larger role than he did in his second short stint with Big Blue.

Head coach John Harbaugh, who once said Beckham was one of his favorite people, took the blame for the coaching staff’s inability to find a role for Beckham, who was limited to just 20 snaps on offense, including one pass target.

Beckham took to social media to air his feelings about how his second stint with the Giants turned out, saying the decision to release him blindsided him.

Beckham, the Giants’ first-round pick in the 2014 draft out of LSU, began his NFL career looking like he might become a legendary NFL receiver, recording 1,000-yard seasons in four of his first five NFL campaigns.

He was traded to the Cleveland Browns after the 2018 season just months after signing a new contract extension. He then had one more 1,000-yard receiving season before his production began to fall, partly due to knee injuries.

Beckham, who won a Super Bowl championship with the Los Angeles Rams, continued to fight through injuries, including two torn ACLs. 

His last truly productive season in the league came in 2023 when he was with Harbaugh in Baltimore. That year, Beckham, returning from a season of inactivity, appeared in 14 games with six starts and posted 565 yards on 35 receptions, his best numbers since 2021, when he split that season between the Browns and Rams.

Beckham and the Giants hoped that history would repeat itself this year. He missed the 2025 season to get his body and mind right, then signed with the Giants on a one-year, veteran-minimum deal with no guaranteed money.

He vowed to be a good teammate and do whatever he could to be helpful. Unfortunately, the coaches’ inability to find a bigger role for him, combined with his lack of special teams snaps and the mounting injuries on the roster, made the arrangement impossible to continue.  

Beckham will now get a chance to continue his career on his terms with the Vikings.

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