Odell Beckham Jr.’s landing spot in 2022 will be one of the biggest questions of the second half of the NFL season. The number of suitors vying for his services has surged in recent weeks, with the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams all struggling to land the veteran receiver.
But the New York Giants, the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2014, also remain a possibility. And one of Beckham’s old teammates, current Giants running back Saquon Barkley, would support a reunion in New York.
“He knows how I feel, he knows how we feel about him,” Barkley said Friday. “He’s Odell. He’s a damn good player. When he’s healthy he’s one of the best players in the league. Why wouldn’t anyone want him?
Barkley celebrated Beckham’s 30th birthday with the receiver over the weekend and joked that he didn’t really need to give Beckham a selling point about a return to the Giants.
“I feel like there’s not really a selling point. It’s New York. It’s the Giants,” Barkley added. “It would be a great story to go back to where he was before and continue to be successful.”
Barkley only played one season with Beckham — his rookie year and Beckham’s last year in New York in 2018. Barkley was offensive rookie of the year that season with 2,028 offensive yards and 15 total touchdowns, while Beckham made 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six caught landings.
The Giants traded Beckham the following offseason, along with linebacker Olivier Vernon, to the Cleveland Browns for safety Jabrill Peppers, offense lineman Kevin Zeitler, and 2019 first- and third-round draft picks.
The Cowboys’ continued hunt for OBJ
For a time, it looked like a two-team race between the Rams and the Bills for Beckham. Beckham had just won a Super Bowl with Los Angeles and was playing well on Sean McVay’s offense. The Bills, meanwhile, are among a handful of Super Bowl favorites this season with a strong offense and have also signed Beckham’s friend and former Rams teammate Von Miller this offseason.
The story goes on
But as the Rams’ 2022 season continued to descend, the Cowboys quickly emerged as a possible team for Beckham. Cowboys legend Michael Irvin said he’s spoken to Beckham several times about a move to Dallas, while linebacker Micah Parson has tweeted His desire to play with Beckham and push Ezekiel Elliott back said succinctly, “We want him. We want OBJ.” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hasn’t been subtle in his interest in signing Beckham, either. He said Beckham “could look pretty good” in a Cowboys uniform.
Where Beckham will sign remains a question mark as the second half of the NFL season moves on. The Cowboys look like a favorite who might end up in Dallas because of the fanfare all around them, but the other teams could remain firmly in the mix. First-year Giants general manager Joe Schoen mentioned that the team had been in touch with Beckham, but didn’t address her interest.
In terms of recruiting, however, Barkley knows he gives the rest of the league a small advantage.
“I don’t have to tweet him,” Barkley said with a grin.
Saquon Barkley would welcome a reunion with Odell Beckham Jr. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)