The New York Giants are grappling with a significant void at wide receiver following Malik Nabers’ devastating torn ACL sustained in the first half of their Week 4 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Nabers, who was carted off the field after the injury, will miss the remainder of the season, as confirmed by Monday’s MRI results for the Giants’ star pass-catcher.
It didn’t take long for fans and NFL analysts to link this receiver shortage to free agent and former Giants first-round pick Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham’s ex-teammate, Victor Cruz, spoke with Giants Wire this week about what a potential reunion might mean for his former colleague.
“It would be incredible for him to come back to the Giants,” Cruz said. “I think a place obviously where he’s called home early on in his career, a place that gave him his opportunity to become who he is today and to show his ability and put his ability on the map and give him a platform to do so, I think will be tremendous for his career. Every athlete wants that full circle moment, right?
“Every athlete, if you’re lucky enough, you get to be in this league for a long time, whether it’s with one team or you kind of be a journeyman, or you just have a couple of teams in your career. But everyone wants to finish out or have their last hoorah, have their last moment with the team that brought them in. And I think for him to go back to the Giants and have that moment would be really, really special for him and something that he would cherish for the rest of his life, I’m sure.”
Cruz and Beckham shared the Giants’ roster from 2014 to 2016. Beckham’s breakout rookie season came in the wake of Cruz’s injury absence, sparking excitement about the dynamic duo they could have formed on the field. Regrettably, Cruz never recaptured his pre-injury form upon his return.
Beckham, of course, was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019 — a deal that netted the Giants the draft pick used to select star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Among the intriguing layers of this narrative, it would carry a touch of irony to witness Beckham’s return alongside Lawrence, who continues to anchor the defensive line at an elite level.
For the moment, the Giants appear poised to monitor their receiving corps through Week 5 — and potentially Week 6, given the quick turnaround — before deciding on any additions. At this juncture in his career, questions linger about the production Beckham could deliver. Yet, with speculation about a Giants reunion simmering for years, the timing feels ripe, potentially marking the ultimate full-circle moment in Beckham’s storied tenure.