John Harbaugh explains why Giants' reunion with Odell Beckham Jr. flopped

Considering that Odell Beckham Jr. was a nonfactor over the New York Giants' first three games of the season, it was hardly a surprise when reports surfaced on Tuesday afternoon confirming that the Giants had released the fan-favorite wide receiver.

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, first-year Giants head coach John Harbaugh explained why Beckham's reunion with what was the veteran player's first NFL home from 2014 through the 2018 campaign turned into a massive flop.

Odell Beckham Jr. receiving more targets "wasn't the best thing" for the Giants

"There's a lot of layers to it," Harbaugh said, per the Giants' website. "It's not really anything that I feel any need to have to get into with everybody. It's not public. It's not information that really matters. It's very subtle. It just wasn't the best thing for our offense, as it turned out. When they're putting the game plan together, as plays are getting called in the game. If it doesn't feel like to the coaches that it's the best thing, then it's not working. It doesn't have to be one or two reasons. It just isn't happening. And that's the reason. That's where it stops."

In total, Beckham tallied 20 snaps with a single target and no receptions over what may go down as the final three regular-season games he ever plays in a Giants uniform. While some wondered whether starting quarterback Jaxson Dart going down with a knee injury (that will keep him out of action through at least the rest of the regular season) in Week 2 could result in temporary QB1 Jameis Winston looking Beckham's way more often, that proved not to be the case.

John Harbaugh slams door on this theory about Giants parting ways with Odell Beckham Jr.

Giants fans who sat in windy and rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium on the afternoon of Sept. 27 chanted for New York to get Beckham more involved against the Tennessee Titans. Thus, one theory floated out there by some local media personalities is that Harbaugh, the Giants' true head of football operations, no longer wanted to deal with the "attention" that a WR4/WR5 was attracting from reporters and Giants fans. 

"No, no, no," Harbaugh responded to a question about that theory. "That's all I really need to answer on it. No, it's what's best for the team. That's it. And if you think it's anything else, then you don't know me. You don't know what we're doing here. It's nothing more than that. It's not doing enough for our offense. It's not doing enough for our team. So, we need to make a change. And he's not thrilled with it either. He wants to play. So, there's no like deep conversation. There's no conspiracy theory. It's just we're trying to win games. We're trying to put the best 48, the best 53 out there for us, for our team right now. And that's it. So, any speculation about all that, that's just noise. Nobody cares about that. It's the last thing I care about. So, that's it."

It remains to be seen if a different team will take a flier on Beckham this fall. As for the 2-1 Giants, they will next host the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals this coming Sunday. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Big Blue as a 2.5-point home underdog for that game.