Odell Beckham Jr. embraces reunion after unceremonious Giants exit

Veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was largely a non-factor during his second stint with the New York Giants before that club released him in late September. 

Beckham didn't have to wait long to find a new NFL home. 

Odell Beckham Jr. lands with unbeaten team

On Wednesday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network/ESPN shared that the Minnesota Vikings were signing Beckham to their practice squad. Presumably, the Vikings believe the 33-year-old has plenty left in the tank and can prove to be a depth piece for a team that could use help for its passing attack. 

The Vikings later confirmed the Beckham news. 

Beckham hadn't played in a regular-season game since December 2024 before he made the Giants' initial 53-man roster this past summer. Over the first three weeks of the ongoing campaign, he tallied 20 snaps with a single target and zero receptions.

After the Giants released Beckham, head coach John Harbaugh said that getting the wideout more involved in games "just wasn't the best thing for our offense." Beckham later took to social media to vent his frustrations regarding the Giants not letting him make an "impact" during games. 

Why Odell Beckham Jr., Vikings partnership makes sense

Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was previously Beckham's offensive coordinator when the two were with the Los Angeles Rams during the 2021 season, which ended with the Rams winning the Super Bowl. According to ESPN, Beckham also played for Vikings assistant head coach Frank Smith when the two were with the Miami Dolphins in 2024.

Meanwhile, ESPN stats show that the 4-0 Vikings head into Week 5 ranked last in the league with an average of 156.0 passing yards per game and 18th with an average of 21.5 points scored per contest. Thus, O'Connell has nothing to lose in seeing if Beckham can give the Minnesota passing attack even a small boost. 

The unbeaten Vikings will next play at the 1-3 New Orleans Saints this coming Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Minnesota as a 1.5-point road favorite for that game. 

The Vikings will spend Week 6 on the bye and theoretically could use that break to allow Beckham to grow more comfortable with the club's playbook.