Odell Beckham Jr. got back to his hotel room Sunday night and began to cry.
These were the best type of tears.
He had just found out — from Giants coach John Harbaugh, while walking off the practice field — that he officially made the 53-man roster, completing the full-circle journey back to the franchise in which he broke out as a superstar to begin his roller-coaster NFL career.
“Figuring out [that] I’m going to be here and I have an opportunity to rewrite some of the last bit of the chapter,” Beckham said after practice Monday. “Don’t know [if it’s my] last year, whatever it is, I just know I’m going to give my all. But definitely had that moment where it was like you could let out some of the pain that I feel like I went through. It was just very healing, very emotional, something I was very happy about.”
That sentiment was shared all the way up to the top of the organization with owner John Mara, who had a close relationship with Beckham when he first came into the league.
“He says his grandsons were super happy,” Harbaugh said. “Because they’ve been kind of asking him every day, ‘Is Odell going to make it? Is Odell going to make it?’”
That question finally has an answer.
Now 33, Beckham saw his body hold up throughout training camp and he showed enough burst on the field to establish himself as a depth receiver in the new-look Giants receiving corps.
Yes, Calvin Austin III tearing his ACL boosted Beckham’s odds of making the roster. But it wasn’t Beckham’s old stats, his former highlights or any fan excitement that got him on the team. There is an overwhelming feeling across the coaching staff and the roster that he fully deserves to be here and can help the Giants win games.
“I earned the right to be here, this wasn’t given to me,” Beckham said. “I was given the opportunity, but I wasn’t given making it here where I’m at. I’m truly happy about it.”
Harbaugh feels like Beckham hit another gear the last two weeks.
“There’s nobody in that locker room, I believe, or anywhere in the building that questions Odell’s earning this,” Harbaugh said. “It’s clear-cut. … The odds were probably against him, I would say. He overcame the odds and did it.”
Malik Nabers, who remembers watching Beckham as a kid and credits him for sparking his football fandom, still occasionally has to take a moment seeing Beckham on the field next to him. Now, they’re officially teammates.
“They didn’t make it easy for him,” Nabers said. “He earned everything he got. He put great film on tape. I’m sure everybody’s seen. He was a great leader. So, good things get rewarded to good people, for sure. … Just for him being here right now, in the same room as me, it’s surreal.”
The conversation now turns from making the roster to playing time. As far as what his actual role will be, that’s still a bit up in the air.
After Nabers, the pecking order among Giants receivers is fluid.
“He’ll be rotating in in different personnel groups,” Harbaugh said, “and he’ll be playing.”
“I feel confident in my ability, and whatever it is that I need to provide, I’m looking to do that and more,” Beckham said. “I’ve never shied away from competition or anything like that. So, I feel that I can produce. I know that’s what I want to do and now it’s about putting the work in to be able to do that.”
Just one thing was missing Monday, however.
One digit, to be more specific.
Beckham was still in his No. 3 jersey, the same one he wore throughout training camp and the preseason — not his old No. 13 he wore during his first stint with the Giants.
Jalin Hyatt, who was signed back to the practice squad Monday after being part of Sunday’s cuts, is still occupying that number — for the moment, at least.
Abdul Carter wears No. 3, meaning Beckham will need to find a new number one way or another. Teams can’t have multiple players with the same number for regular-season games.
“I think we all know what that [number] means to me, and there definitely will be some conversations,” Beckham said. “I’ll just say we’ll see what happens. It would be an honor and a privilege to put that back on.”
Regardless of what number he wears, what began as his dream at the start of the summer is now his reality.
Beckham is officially back.
