Key Takeaways
- Odell Beckham Jr. has yet to record a catch through three games of his Giants comeback, prompting Bruce Arians to declare, “I think the end is near.”
- Arians dismissed a potential Rams reunion and argued that aging outside receivers like Beckham face a difficult transition when they lose speed and must learn to play inside.
- The 33-year-old earned a one-year, $1.3 million deal after sitting out 2025 and flashing 20.54 mph speed in the preseason, but his regular-season return has failed to match that promise.
Odell Beckham Jr.’s feel-good return to the New York Giants is getting a reality check three games into the season.
OBJ has yet to record a catch in 2026, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians believes the veteran receiver’s limited role signals that his NFL career could be winding down. Given recent reports of his release, Arians’ prediction may have proven prescient.
“Odell can’t get on the field with the Giants right now,” Arians told Kay Adams during a recent appearance on Up & Adams. “I think the end is near.”
Arians pushed back after Adams floated the idea of trading Beckham to the Los Angeles Rams, where OBJ previously helped the team win Super Bowl LVI. The former Super Bowl-winning coach argued that Beckham’s challenge goes beyond simply getting more opportunities, pointing to the adjustments aging outside receivers sometimes have to make as their careers progress.
“Watching wide receivers who play outside with speed have to learn a new position inside—it’s a different ballgame,” Arians said.
The assessment comes only weeks after Beckham completed an unlikely journey back onto the Giants’ roster. The 33-year-old returned to New York on a one-year, $1.3 million deal after spending the entire 2025 season out of the NFL. He entered training camp without a guaranteed spot and had to prove he could still separate from defenders after years of injuries and declining production.
He did exactly that during the preseason.
Beckham didn't miss a practice during camp and reached 20.54 mph while beating a Jets defender on a deep route during New York’s preseason finale. Coach John Harbaugh ultimately declared that Beckham had “done enough to make an NFL roster,” while Beckham said making the team would “mean everything” after questioning whether his playing career was over.
The regular season has been a different story.
Beckham’s Giants comeback began against Dallas at MetLife Stadium, the same opponent and stadium where his famous one-handed catch turned him into an overnight superstar in 2014.
“I earned the right to be here,” Beckham said before that game. “I fought very hard.”
