The New York Giants did Odell Beckham Jr. dirty ... again. On Wednesday, the team announced it was releasing the 33-year-old after just three games. Head coach John Harbaugh did his best to sound torn up about it, but his explanation was rather curious.
"We just weren't getting enough. It just wasn't working for us. I wanted to be able to give more, I wanted him to be able to do more. I wanted to get him on the field more."
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) September 30, 2026
John Harbaugh says "put it on us" with regard to the release of Odell Beckham Jr.: pic.twitter.com/FtLRrpJMk2
"We just weren't getting enough," he told reporters. "It just wasn't working for us. I wanted to be able to give more, I wanted him to be able to do more. I wanted to get him on the field more."
Harbaugh added that fans can "put it on us" in reference to the motivation to let the former first-round pick and reconciled fan favorite go so early in the season. Oh, we're definitely putting it on you, John. In three appearances, OBJ was given just 19 snaps to prove his usefulness on offense. He was targeted just once on 12 routes run and recorded no catches. In what world is that a big enough sample size to decide a proven NFL veteran should hit the road?
Giants wasted OBJ reunion and handled his release horribly
The worst part about this episode is the fact that the players found out about the release from the press in real time. Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux was caught by surprise when asked about it after practice Wednesday.
Kayvon Thibodeaux finds out live on the call about the Giants releasing Odell Beckham Jr.
— SNY Giants (@SNYGiants) September 29, 2026
"Wish him the best, he's a legend in the game - he's definitely going to be able to make a statement somewhere" pic.twitter.com/FDFrQmedmn
Beckham Jr. also refuted the reporting that his departure was a "mutual" decision with the team. That information came from Giants super fan Joe Ruback, also known as "License Plate Guy," who personally spoke with OBJ and relayed it on the "New York Revival" podcast.
"No, it wasn't mutual, and no, he will not play on the practice squad," Ruback said.
This whole episode reeks of OBJ being brought in for feel-good PR at the beginning of the season despite the fact that Harbaugh had zero intention of actually incorporating him into the offense. If Beckham Jr. had more targets and fewer receptions, then there's absolutely cause for the team to move on and focus on the corps of young pass-catchers Harbaugh brought in. That's not at all what the data suggests, though.
Beckham Jr. was shown on tape to be drawing defenders away from guys like Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely, but the season-ending injury to QB Jaxson Dart likely throws a wrench in the strategy going forward. Yet, Beckham Jr. should be more valuable now than before because there is an opportunity to reallocate targets based on whoever is under center for the Giants — Jameis Winston or J.J. McCarthy.
Harbaugh must have had that conversation with staff and general manager Joe Schoen, but the explanation given for Beckham Jr.'s release shouldn't be taken at face value by the fans. If he didn't ask for it and given the snap-share data hardly tells a story at all, there's got to be something else at play here and it was unfair to OBJ.
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