Vikings Sign WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham caught just nine passes in as many games in 2024 with the Dolphins, who released him that December. The former star then sat out all of last season and served a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, but Beckham resurfaced when he reunited with the Giants in June.

Beckham largely thrived as a Giant from 2014-18, and he managed to earn a roster spot this summer, but his second act with the franchise was a dud. New York cut Beckham after he played just 20 offensive snaps and went without a reception in the team’s first three games. While Beckham has 575 career catches, the 11th-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowler hasn’t caught a pass in a regular-season game since Dec. 8, 2024.

Although Beckham has sharply declined over the past few years, he experienced success with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2021. With O’Connell then serving as the Rams’ offensive coordinator, Beckham joined the team as a free agent that November. The 5-foot-11, 198-pounder hit the market after the Browns released him, and he became a late-season asset for an L.A. club that went on to win a championship.

Beckham chipped in 27 receptions, 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games with the Rams. He then looked like vintage OBJ at times during the postseason, a four-game run in which he racked up 21 grabs, 288 yards and two scores. Beckham added two catches, 52 yards and a TD in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win over the Bengals, but he exited with a torn ACL in the second quarter.

After sitting out the 2022 campaign to rehab his knee, Beckham returned to log respectable production with the Ravens the next season. While working as a complement to Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews, Beckham snagged 35 passes for 565 yards (a career-best 16.1 YPC) and three TDs in 14 games. While success has been hard to come by for Beckham since then, perhaps reconnecting with O’Connell will help the soon-to-be 34-year-old turn back the clock to some extent.

The Vikings are off to a 4-0 start, but they can thank coordinator Brian Flores’ dominant defense for that. An offense that has turned to quarterback Kyler Murray (and Carson Wentz when Murray missed most of Week 1 and all of Week 2 with a concussion) ranks dead last in passing and second to last in total yards.

The Vikings’ offense was not especially impressive in a 15-10 win over the lowly Dolphins last Sunday, though it didn’t help that the unit went without superstar No. 1 receiver Justin Jefferson. There is optimism Jefferson will return to face the Saints in Week 5, but regardless, Beckham will give the Vikings extra depth at the position. Jefferson and Jordan Addison are locked in as the Vikings’ one-two punch at receiver, but the rest of their wideouts – Jauan Jennings, Tai Felton and Myles Price – have combined for just five catches and 29 yards.