Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr has signed with the Minnesota Vikings, where he will be reunited with head coach Kevin O’Connell, the NFL club announced Wednesday. The move comes a week after 33-year-old Beckham was released from his short second stint at the New York Giants. He will initially join the practice squad of a Vikings team that has surpassed expectations to begin the season 4-0.
O’Connell, who was the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl with Beckham in 2022, said he was excited to be reunited with the veteran. “Obviously I have a great history with him going back to 2021, spending a lot of time with him when he came in mid-season and getting him ready to help us, and just how impactful he was down the stretch of that season,” said O’Connell on Wednesday. “Just excited to get him going,” he added.
Related news
Beckham is expected to provide cover as Minnesota is currently without star receiver Justin Jefferson due to an ankle injury. O’Connell said his team was “a little banged up in that receiver room” and said joining the practice squad will help Odell to get “acclimated to our offense.”
Beckham was taken 12th overall by the Giants in the 2014 NFL Draft and spent five successful seasons with New York, catching 44 touchdowns, before being traded to Cleveland in 2019. The Browns released Beckham in November 2021, and he signed with the Rams three days later. Beckham scored five touchdowns in eight regular-season games and two more in the playoffs, including a 17-yard touchdown catch in the Super Bowl as the Rams beat Cincinnati for the title.
Beckham missed the 2022 season with a torn knee ligament suffered in the Super Bowl, then returned with Baltimore in 2023 and played for Miami in 2024. Beckham sat out last season, during which he was issued a six-game ban for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He re-signed with the New York Giants in June, but the reunion did not pan out. Across three games, he did not record a single catch, receiving only one target, and was released last week.
Overall, Beckham has 575 catches for 7,987 yards and 59 touchdowns, plus 23 rushes for 170 yards and a touchdown.
© 2024 AFP
