Odell Beckham Jr. makes Giants' 53-man roster

Pat Leonard, New York Daily News on Aug 30, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — OBJ is back in NYC. Officially.

Odell Beckham Jr. made the Giants‘ 53-man roster on the NFL’s cutdown day Sunday, kickstarting a second chapter with the organization where he became a star as a first-round pick out of LSU in 2014.

The team also waived 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt, who wears jersey No. 13. So it won’t be long until Beckham ditches his recent No. 3 for the number he made famous.

Beckham, 33, signed in the spring and reunited with John Harbaugh, who coached him in Baltimore in 2023. Then OBJ had a strong preseason and training camp to cement his spot on the Giants team that will take the field Sept. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1.

“I’m excited,” Beckham told NFL insider Josina Anderson Sunday after practice. “I found out when I was walking off the field. Coach said, ‘Congratulations,’ and he said that I worked hard. I told him I will give him everything I got. He said, ‘Let’s go do it.'”

Beckham made 390 catches for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns for the Giants in five seasons from 2014-2018.

Former GM Dave Gettleman paid Beckham a 5-year, $90 million contract in Aug. 2018 and then traded him to the Cleveland Browns in March 2019.

Once Beckham escaped Cleveland, he helped the L.A. Rams win a Super Bowl in 2021, tearing his ACL in the game.

The mounting injuries kept OBJ out of football in 2022. But he rebounded in Baltimore, had a cup of coffee last season with the Miami Dolphins and then resolved to give a triumphant Giant return one more go.

Beckham told Anderson that quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart both showed love to him after he officially made the team Sunday.

“Now I just got to go get it,” Beckham said. “I have one more gear to go, one more gear in me. I came to New York to give my all, and that’s what they’re going to get out of me. To the city, to the fans: I love you.”

Beckham makes a receiving corps that also includes Malik Nabers, rookie third-round pick Malachi Fields and veterans Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton.

Braxton Berrios was released, but the Giants intend to bring him back for Week 1, as well. Calvin Austin had been playing well all preseason but tore his right ACL in the final week of camp.

Now the Giants’ efforts with Beckham should turn to developing more chemistry with Dart.

The starting quarterback and Beckham did not connect much in July or August. Beckham did more damage while playing with Winston.

Dart will be the one playing in the games, so that should be the Harbaugh’s next step to get the best out of a physically resurgent Beckham.

Getting drafty in here

The Giants’ cuts on Saturday included four of the team’s draft picks between 2022 and 2024: offensive lineman Evan Neal, Hyatt, running back Eric Gray and linebacker Darius Muasau.

Neal was the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 draft. Hyatt was a third-round pick in 2023, and Gray went two rounds later the same year. Muasau was a sixth-rounder in 2024.

The Giants now have only four of their 18 draft picks from the 2022 and 2023 NFL drafts still on their roster: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Micah McFadden, Deonte Banks and John Michael Schmitz.

Elsewhere on the roster, center Bryan Hudson made the team over veteran Lucas Patrick as Schmitz’s backup. And 2025 seventh-round tight end Thomas Fidone made the initial roster after catching everything thrown his way all camp.

Corner Nic Jones, safety Elijah Campbell and linebacker Zaire Barnes made the team as core special teamers.

Harbaugh interestingly practiced his team prior to making cuts on Sunday, an unorthodox decision that guarantees players are healthy enough to take the field the day they’re released.

They’ll be back on the field in New Jersey Monday through Wednesday. Then they’ll have a break before revving back up for Dallas.

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