Three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has not played a full NFL season since 2023, spent all of 2025 unsigned, and is coming off a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. None of that has stopped New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh from picking up the phone. Repeatedly.
Harbaugh told reporters on Saturday that he has spoken to Beckham three to four times over the past week alone. The two sides are still sorting through whether a deal actually makes sense, and for now, the Giants are prepared to let the situation develop naturally.
Per ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Raanan, Harbaugh said they will let the situation play out over the next month and into training camp.
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2014: Odell Beckham Jr., No. 12 overall © Danielle Parhizkaran / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Harbaugh’s belief in Beckham rests on more than just prior relationship
Harbaugh coached Beckham with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2023 season, when the receiver caught 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson. That was also the year the Ravens reached the AFC Championship Game.
The two have maintained a relationship since Baltimore declined to re-sign him, and the connection carried into Harbaugh’s first year running the Giants organization.
John Harbaugh said he’s talked to Odell Beckham a lot, 3-4 times over the past week. Signing has to make sense for both sides. Thinks Beckham can make a roster and is the kind of player that believes he can make a difference.
They’ll let the situation play out over the next…
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) May 9, 2026
“He’s one of my very favorite people in the world,” Harbaugh said at the NFL owners meetings in March, per Fox Sports. “It’s not like you don’t talk to guys about things like that.”
The Giants did bring Beckham in for a pre-draft workout, and what they saw was encouraging enough to keep the conversation going.
“He still thinks he has some juice, and he looked good in the workout.” At the same time, the head coach has acknowledged that both sides have questions to answer before committing. “He’s not quite decided on that yet,” Harbaugh said after the draft. “I think we just have to see where we’re at.”
Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. attends the game between the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. attends the game between the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
What the Giants are building under Harbaugh includes a heavy emphasis on bigger, more physical targets around Jaxson Dart and star receiver Malik Nabers, who is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his second season early.
Adding Beckham who is now 33 to that room would give Dart a veteran presence and a receiver whose resume still commands attention from opposing secondaries, even if the productivity isn’t what it was in his Giants peak from 2014 to 2018.
Harbaugh also noted that Beckham “believes he can make a difference” and is approaching this potential comeback with a different mindset than earlier in his career.
As Harbaugh put it, “it has to make sense for both sides.”
The situation has no urgency attached to it right now, which may actually be what makes it viable. A player who hasn’t been on a field in over a year, on a team rebuilding around younger talent, benefits from a low-pressure evaluation window. Harbaugh appears to believe that the window is still open.