John Harbaugh on Odell Beckham Jr.: "It's got to be right for both parties"

The Giants have talked to receiver Odell Beckham Jr. about a potential reunion. Those talks continue.

Coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Saturday that he has talked to Beckham "probably three or four times in the last week" to discuss "where he's at, where we're at."

"I think the goal for right now is for him to train and get as ready as he can be, and then we'll see where we're at at that time," Harbaugh said. "It's got to be right for both parties, and Odell wants to be the kind of player that can make a difference. I'm pretty sure that he can make a team in the National Football League right now. But can he make a difference? Is it something he wants to do? And is his body gonna hold up in the way he wants it to? And all those things are questions that need to get answered for anybody at that age, you know?"

Beckham, 33, apparently believes it can.

"Now, you know Odell, he's confident, man," Harbaugh said. "He's confident, he's working hard, and he believes in himself. So, I think we'll just play it out over the next month and into training camp, and see where we're at."

It sounds as if the Giants don't believe Beckham can have the same kind of impact that Beckham thinks he can make. And that Beckham perhaps believes he'd deserve a higher spot in the pecking order than the Giants would be willing to give him.

The other reality, when it comes to the receiver position, is that if a player is too low on the depth chart, he'll need to be able to play special teams. Most older players (especially former superstars) won't want to do that.

Beckham last played during the 2024 season. The year before that, he played for Harbaugh in Baltimore, catching 35 passes for 565 yards. Beckham's last 1,000-yard seasons happened seven years ago, in his first season with the Browns.

Before that, Beckham had four 1,000-yard seasons in five years with the Giants. And it appears, frankly, that Harbaugh is simply being extra courteous to a player who once played for Harbaugh and who once was a key player with Harbaugh's new team.

Harbaugh, we believe, doesn't want to have to tell Beckham a reunion isn't going to work, not the way Beckham envisions. And the likely hope is that Beckham will decide it's not a fit for both parties without Harbaugh and the Giants having to tell him that directly.