New York Giants release Odell Beckham Jr. after limited playing time

The New York Giants put an end to one of the feel-good storylines of the early NFL season when they released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ, who turns 34 next month, returned to the Giants this offseason and earned a spot on the final 53-man roster. However, he didn't see much playing time in the first three weeks of the season.

OBJ played a grand total of 20 offensive snaps through three games and recorded zero receptions. Giants fans hoped to witness a storybook end to his NFL career. During New York's Week 3 victory over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday, "OBJ" chants could be heard throughout MetLife Stadium. However, the Giants decided to cut ties with him.

Given OBJ's legendary status, this rubbed some people the wrong way. One football fan made an Instagram video insulting John Harbaugh, Joe Schoen and the Giants organization for using OBJ to make money -- bringing him in to create a storyline and drum up fan interest with zero intent to actually use him.

Beckham actually commented on the video and seemed to agree with the creator, "realbcasbreaks." In what may be his first public comments since he was released, OBJ said the Giants "won" given the attention he brought while accepting a veteran minimum contract. He even said he "shoulda known better."

"Im super smart !!!! But I didn't see this one my brotha! They got me!!! They won on top of the money u talkin bout I made tnem I came in HUMBLY took vet min then EARNED my spot n didn't say nothing bout no $$$ which I kno make for everybody 🤑🤑… Ima tell u this ima grown man and this Shxt didn't hurt me but it did when they cut me like that cause part of me is like I shoulda known better. Now let me tellllll u the realllll deal truth what hurt my heart to the core is comin home and seeing my son and how happy he was with no idea of what happened and talkin bout my job n jersey number 13 broke me tf down.. funny thing about that is he said he likes 3 better n I find that very interesting ..

but again there was no real pain till u get home and ur son gives u that hug like idc what happened daddy ur the best and I love u… nothing better than tht.. but yea idk why they even gave me the run along I coulda really been playing this year somewhere and making a impact and I mean that from a person whose humbled by God and life, so all im doin is gettin ready for whatever God has for me and spreading luv n meantime."

The Giants replaced Beckham by signing wide receiver and punt returner Braxton Berrios to the active roster, along with Charlie Jones. Harbaugh addressed Beckham's release this week, saying that it just "wasn't working for us."

"I had a great conversation with Odell, and it's tough," Harbaugh said, via SNY. "But we just weren't getting enough, you know? It just wasn't working for us. And like I told him, I wanted to be able to get more. I wanted him to be able to do more, I wanted to get him on the field more. Whatever reason, we weren't able to do it. Put it on us. We weren't able to get it done. But at this point in time, that's kind of where we were and we needed to move on."

While there's no disputing that the signing of OBJ excited the fan base, it remains to be seen what kind of impact he can have at this stage of his career. He hasn't crossed 55 yards receiving in a season since 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens. Beckham spent one year with the Miami Dolphins in 2024, and then went unsigned in 2025 while being suspended six games for violating the NFL's policies on performance-enhancing drugs.