Odell Beckham Jr. earned his spot on Giants roster; who else joined him on NFL roster cutdown day?
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. looks to make a catch during the first half of a preseason football game against the Jets on Friday at MetLife Stadium. Credit: AP/Adam Hunger
The Odell Beckham Jr. comeback story will continue where it began. With the Giants.
Beckham, whose first stint with the team ended in 2018, made the Giants’ initial roster after Sunday’s deadline to cut rosters from 90 players to 53. After a year out of the NFL, the wide receiver again will suit up for Big Blue.
It was all but expected after Calvin Austin III’s season-ending injury. Coach John Harbaugh said Beckham had his best week of practice last week, and after Friday’s preseason finale, he said Beckham did enough to make an NFL roster.
Now he’s back to finish this full-circle moment with the team with which he became a superstar in his first five seasons.
“I’m just truly grateful for that opportunity, that experience,” Beckham said Friday. “It was a tough couple years taking a step back and deciding to go forward with life . . . the mental battles that we go through and just push through, persevere and overcome adversity. I’m truly grateful.”
The next step is proving he can be productive on the field while mentoring younger teammates who grew up admiring him. Time will tell how he produces against starting defenses after showing he could get open against preseason competition.
He also could return with his old No. 13 as the Giants waived receiver Jalin Hyatt. Hyatt, who wore No. 13 after being drafted in 2023, had only 36 receptions for 470 yards and no touchdowns in his career.
It was not a shock that he was cut. The same could be said about offensive lineman Evan Neal, who ended his tenure as a Giants bust.
Neal, the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft, struggled at tackle and couldn’t carve out a role at guard after switching positions last year. He was re-signed to a one-year deal this past spring but didn’t impress a new coaching staff either.
Both are reminders of how the 2022 and 2023 drafts, the first under general manager Joe Schoen, yielded low returns that contributed to the team’s poor play the last two seasons. Only two members of the 2022 draft class remain (Kayvon Thibodeaux and Micah McFadden).
With Hyatt and Eric Gray waived, Deonte Banks and John Michael Schmitz are the only two players from the 2023 class still on the roster. There’s more production from the 2024 class but one member was cut Sunday in linebacker Darius Muasau.
Muasau, a sixth-round pick, started 18 games over two seasons but couldn’t move up from third-team duty. His departure means the Giants have nearly turned over their entire inside linebacker group, a weakness last season.
McFadden is the only mainstay. If free-agent signee Tremaine Edmunds and rookie Arvell Reese produce at a high level and improve the run defense, they could be two of the best moves Harbaugh made this offseason.
The Giants also overhauled their defensive line. After signing a slew of defensive tackles in the offseason, they retained two signees in DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. Leki Fotu and Josh Tupou were among the cuts.
The Giants also traded for C.J. Okoye on Saturday. Rookie defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis, who had two sacks in the preseason, also made the roster after being on the bubble.
They, along with Chauncey Golston and Darius Alexander, will be judged by how much the Giants’ run defense improves after being one of the league’s worst last year.
A surprising cut among the receivers was Braxton Berrios, who was slated to be the Giants’ kick returner. However, there’s a path for him to return before the season opener on Sept. 13.
As a vested veteran with at least four accrued NFL seasons, Berrios is a free agent who won’t be placed on the waiver wire. By releasing him, the Giants can add someone via waivers and potentially re-sign Berrios without other teams putting in a claim on him.
For now, the Giants have five receivers. They also are going with four running backs in Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary and Najee Harris.
Instead of relying on one dominant back, this strategy will keep the backs fresher in a run-heavy offense. But given his past production in Pittsburgh, Harris’ arrival means there’s little room for the returning running backs to struggle.
Tight end Thomas Fidone II was one of several players on the bubble who made the roster. He gives the Giants four tight ends, which matches Harbaugh’s desire to be more physical up front.
“We’re really happy with our roster. I feel like we’ve got all the players in place that we need,” Harbaugh said Saturday. “At the same time, if there’s an opportunity to improve ourselves somewhere along the way, we will.”
He should be pleased. It’s a bigger roster. It’s a roster low on sentimentality, and last year’s weaknesses have been addressed. Even Beckham’s signing was based on merit, not nostalgia.
All that’s left is the Giants proving it through results. Come Sept. 13, we’ll start to find out.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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