Apr 6, 2025; New York, New York, USA; NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. sits courtside during the second half of the NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Former Giants Receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. Makes Heartfelt Confession

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Patricia Traina | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 12:00 PM ET

As receiver Odell Beckham Jr continues to face the possibility that his 10-year NFL career, which in addition to the Giants has seen him make stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Miami, could be at an end, he no doubt has some regrets over how things might have unfolded earlier in his career with the team that drafted him 12th overall in 2014.

Beckham, whose larger-than-life personality, staunch competitive spirit, and play-making ability made him an instant fan favorite, particularly at a time when the franchise fell on hard times, was traded by the team after the 2018 season to Cleveland just a year after having signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Giants.

At the time, Beckham made little attempt to hide his disappointment with the team’s moving him to Cleveland, accusing them during an appearance on the Punch Line Podcast with Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey that the Giants sent him to Cleveland “to die.”

In a recent episode of the Beckham &Friends Live "altcast" for CBS Sports' UEFA Champions LEague Final coverage, the receiver, who went on to win a Super Bowl championship with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, Beckham made a heartfelt confession to hosts David Beckham, Kate Scott, and Thierry Henry.

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"I never ever wanted to leave the New York Giants," Beckham Jr. confessed.

Beckham explained that the losing got to him and may have made him speak out in a way that, judging from his tone, he probably now regrets.

"The reason you heard me talking about what was going on was because I was pissed,” he said. “Where I come from in college, if we lost one game, our season was over.”

Although Beckham accomplished the dream of every NFL player—winning a Super Bowl championship —he admitted to wishing he had been able to do so with the Giants.

"This was the organization I got drafted to. They believed in me,” he said. “So if the Giants went and won a Super Bowl, I would be happy. But deep down inside, I wanted to be the one. No question. So definitely, you'll always hold that.”

Since leaving the Giants, Beckham has suffered two ACL injuries, including one during the Super Bowl, which caused him to miss the 2022 season. He returned for the 2023 season with the Ravens, who fell short of their Super Bowl quest and then joined the Dolphins last season, appearing in just nine games.

So far, there hasn't been much interest in Beckham, who earlier this year opened up to People magazine about a chronic skin disease he’s been battling. There has also been some speculation that he might be contemplating retiring from the game.

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