By Sunday, all 32 NFL franchises need to cut their rosters down to 53 players. Several teams have already been making moves over the last few days, and more will come in the days ahead. For the New York Giants, one player some viewed as potentially on the bubble was Odell Beckham Jr.
He may be a three-time Pro Bowler and a franchise icon, but he's also the elder statesman on a team that has loaded up on receiver talent all offseason. With Malik Nabers back from a torn ACL, the depth chart also features veterans Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, and Braxton Berrios, plus third-round rookie Malachi Fields and mainstays Isaiah Hodgins and Jalin Hyatt. That's left Beckham on the outside looking in for a while now, even with Calvin Austin III having torn his ACL.
But head coach John Harbaugh may have just tipped his hand on Beckham's roster fate. "I think Odell's had a good camp," Harbaugh said on Wednesday. "I would say his best week of camp has come this week.
He's looked good and made numerous plays. Even [Wednesday, he] made numerous plays. So, he's doing that." "I think the kid [Beckham] can still play," said Giants GM Joe Schoen earlier in the day on WFAN Sports Radio.
"He's going to play on Friday, and we're going to continue to evaluate those guys. But he has shown enough that he can still play." More news: Packers Reveal Contingency Plan for Possible Josh Jacobs Suspension More news: Falcons OC Weighs In on Tua Tagovailoa vs Michael Penix QB Battle Beckham appeared in both of the Giants' first two preseason games and was targeted a fair amount. In the preseason opener against the Vikings, he hauled in two catches on three targets for six yards; against the Dolphins a week later, he added two catches for 17 yards on four targets.
The target share is encouraging, even if the yardage totals were underwhelming. Coaches have also been raving about Beckham's play and work ethic in practice, and following the injury to Austin, there's a chance the team could view him as more of an asset than younger players like Hodgins or Hyatt — both of whom could theoretically be moved to the practice squad after Sunday. More news: Bears Involved in Trade Talks to Deal Key Defensive Starter
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