As the Giants prepare for a Week 2 showdown at MetLife Stadium against the Carolina Panthers, some people are still thinking about what New York did in Week 1. Who, you ask? Oh, you know — just a guy named Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham, who spent five seasons with the Giants at wide receiver before getting traded to the Cleveland Browns, has been working himself back from a torn ACL he suffered during the Super Bowl in February. So, OBJ is just a football spectator for now like the rest of us. Apparently, he enjoyed what he saw from former teammates Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard.
I can’t lie to yalll it feeel good to see @saquon get to do what he does… one of the best to ever put on cleats, seen it wit my own eyes no capppp… Don’t @ me
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) September 15, 2022
And young @sterl_shep3 don’t get to actinggggg up!!!! Boyyyy DA DUMB WAY
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) September 15, 2022
Barkley collected 194 total yards against the Titans in Week 1, 164 of which came on the ground (along with a touchdown). He hasn’t had a performance this explosive since Week 15 of the 2019 season. In that game against Washington, Barkley rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown, along with adding 90 yards and another touchdown through the air.
Shepard caught just two balls from quarterback Daniel Jones in Nashville, but he accumulated 71 yards in the process. The majority of it came on a 65-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. It was Shepard’s first score since Week 1 of last season when he caught seven passes for 113 yards in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
OBJ specifically asked people to not @ him, but that’s exactly what they did…pleading with him to come back and sign with the Giants. That was probably a predictable outcome since he randomly shouted out his former teammates days after they played key roles in the Giants starting 1-0 for the first time since 2016.
But what are the chances he actually comes back to New York? As recently as June, the defending champion Rams expressed confidence in re-signing the wideout upon him getting back to 100%. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, Beckham may not sign with a team until closer to the middle of the regular season. So, this hope of OBJ coming back home will linger for a bit.
More at ESNY:
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- Aaron Judge free agency: MLB insider thinks Mets will pursue slugger
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
