Tom Rock: Is this the week Odell Beckham Jr. finally contributes on the field? John Harbaugh hopes so.
Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants runs a route during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 13. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Wondering where Odell Beckham Jr. has been? You are not alone.
“That’s a great question,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said on Friday after being asked when the one-time star receiver and sentimental fan favorite who made the team in the summer would start to show up in the offense. “I would think Sunday would be great. I would be all for it for Sunday. That would be the perfect time in my mind. I hope that happens this Sunday.”
Well, if anyone has the power to do something about it, you’d think it would be Harbaugh.
So far this season Beckham’s highlights have included being introduced with the starters prior to the opening game against Dallas and then… nothing. He played 11 offensive snaps in that contest, three against the Rams. But he has not been targeted on any passes.
Heck he wasn’t even the team’s emergency third-string quarterback option on Monday night after Jaxson Dart left with his knee injury. That job — along with a lot of the others that Beckham would seem ideal to fit — went to Braxton Berrios.
We knew Beckham wouldn’t have a starring role in the game plans. Coming back from his injuries and returning to the game after a year away from the sport, he is not the explosive player he was when he was tearing up the record books in his first few years with the Giants. He was brought in to add experience and wisdom to the receiving room more than touchdown catches and one-handed grabs.
But there should be something he can bring to the field. Otherwise, why is he here?
That, as Harbaugh would say, is also a great question.
Perhaps we will find out soon. He is one of the few active receivers on the roster who was able to work extensively with Jameis Winston, the new starting quarterback, throughout training camp when the two were taking second-team reps. And in a Giants offense that has seemed sluggish in regard to picking up chunks of yardage — their 5.9 yards per passing attempt rank 29th in the league and they are the only team in the NFL without more than one passing play of 20 or more yards so far this season — you’d think he could add some kind spark to things.
Or maybe this is exactly why the Giants were at least hesitant to sign Beckham in the first place, because having him on the roster is fun and exciting and creates a buzz, but finding something for him to actually do in games is an entirely different thing. And now that he has made the team after a strong training camp, not to mention the late-summer season-ending ACL tear suffered by fellow wide receiver Calvin Austin III, there may not be a tactful way in terms of finances (his contract for the year is guaranteed) or public perception to take him off it.
The Giants are stuck with him now. That’s not an awful thing. It just means that they should commit themselves to finding ways to make him useful.
To be clear, there is no indication that Beckham is upset with the current scenario. He continues to practice and go where he is told. There is no griping or sulking. Beckham knew he wasn’t going to be a centerpiece here, and he was certainly right about that.
But he is taking up valuable real estate on not just the 53-man roster but the game day active list as well.
“We're trying to probably slowly package him in some things offensively,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said of Beckham this week. “It's not that he's just a backup. There are times when, whatever it is personnel-wise [for him], we have it on the game plan. We just didn't get to it.”
Nagy added that he continues to tell Beckham he should stay ready, that he is “one injury away from being in all the time” and should keep studying the plays they have for him.
That seems slightly condescending to say about someone with Beckham’s history in the league and history here in particular.
Harbaugh knows what he wants to see take place. Beckham certainly would be game for it. Winston wouldn’t mind the help. And the fans who show up through the storm will be up for any OBJ sighting to take the sting out of the nor’easter.
Beckham will almost certainly be activated on Sunday when the Giants face the Titans. He’ll run through the tunnel — either introduced with the starters or along with the others — and all eyes will be on No. 13, just as they always have been in the building.
What will happen after that?
Great question indeed.
Dart has surgery
Jaxson Dart underwent surgery for the torn meniscus in his left knee on Friday in Manhattan. Dart also suffered damage to his MCL and PCL which were expected to be fixed during the surgery as well.
Having the procedure so soon after his injury on Monday night could quicken his recovery, which normally takes about six months but could see him able to return to some kind of action in four.
“I was excited that they’re going to get to it right away,” Harbaugh said. “They mentioned that it was something that could be done quickly.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
