Odell Beckham Jr. to meet with Giants on Thursday, Brian Daboll confirms
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. leaves the field after the 20-15 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL football game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes is the game within the game, and the Giants officially have the opening gambit.
Coach Brian Daboll confirmed that the team will meet with the erstwhile wide receiver Thursday but would not elaborate. The plan is for Giants brass to have dinner with the free agent Thursday prior to a formal meeting Friday, according to a source.
“I want to try to keep him here,” said Sterling Shepard, who is currently sidelined by a torn ACL but played with Beckham for three years and remained close to him. “That’s going to be the plan . . . [but] I don’t really have much say on the business side of it. He’ll take care of that.”
It’s widely believed that the Giants are among at least three teams who stand a chance at landing Beckham, with the Cowboys and Bills rounding out the list. The Cowboys have made zero attempt at shielding their interest, with owner Jerry Jones openly courting Beckham in the media, and the team’s Twitter account tweeting “It’s your move, OBJ” after linking an article where Dak Prescott tries his hand at recruitment. Coach Mike McCarthy and other Cowboys have been equally lavish with their attentions.
Beckham, though, does come with a buyer-beware tag: He’s 30 years old, coming off his second ACL reconstruction, and hasn’t played since last season’s Super Bowl. His talent is undeniable, but his previous five-year tenure with the Giants was rife with drama — the sort of drama that followed him as recently as last week when he was kicked off a plane for not having his seat belt on, his lawyer said in a statement. His lawyer said Beckham was simply asleep and would have been happy to comply (he wasn’t detained or arrested). Then there’s the fact that he’s looking for a multiyear contract.
Although Beckham parted with the Giants on sour terms, he’s also responsible for two of the most iconic catches in team history and could be wooed by the prospect of these new-look Giants, and Daboll’s vision for the team, specifically.
Daboll, meanwhile, wouldn’t say at all what the visit will entail, including whether Beckham will undergo some sort of physical. “I’m getting ready to practice for Washington,” he said, a refrain repeated more than once. “We’ll cover that later.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was equally evasive: “I know [general manager] Joe [Schoen] and Dabs have a plan on how they want to work it. I’ll wait for them on how exactly they want to do that, and we’re all on board on however Joe and Dabs want to work that.”
Regardless, Beckham, who was cleared to play earlier this month, would certainly fill an area of need: The Giants’ receiving corps is in dire need of a boost. The team has the fourth-fewest receiving yards in the NFL and is tied for third-fewest passing touchdowns with 10.
“He was obviously a dynamic player from his freshman year all the way up until he left,” said special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who served in that role at LSU when Beckham played there. “Super, super talented guy.”
Schoen, though, hasn’t consulted McGaughey. “If they want my opinion, they’ll give it to me,” he joked.
Of course, signing Beckham also keeps him away from the waiting arms of the rival Cowboys, a team he’s routinely dominated during his career. He’s a Super Bowl champion, a three-time Pro Bowler and, by many accounts, has greatly matured from his time with the Giants.
Shepard earlier this month blanched at the idea of his good friend going to Dallas, saying, “He better not do that to me.”
“I’ve got to let him do what [he’s going to] do,” Shepard said Wednesday, adding that he was sure that Beckham would still be himself, injury notwithstanding. Beckham, he said, plans to come over during the visit and spend time with Shepard’s family.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll be the same player that he’s always been,” Shepard said, with a caveat that his continuing rehab might mean that he doesn’t return until the end of this season or even next year. “Obviously, he might be a little bit different, but he’s very talented — a generational talent. I believe he’ll come back and be full go.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
