Odell Beckham Jr. is back. So is his No. 13.
After wearing No. 3 throughout the preseason, Beckham showed up to Giants practice Tuesday sporting No. 13, the jersey number that he made his own during his first stint in New York.
Beckham is back with the Giants for the first time since 2018. Since 2018, he’s bounced around the NFL with the Browns, Rams, Ravens and Dolphins. He signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal to return to the Giants in the offseason and made the 53-man roster cut on Sunday.
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Beckham had been wearing No. 3 during the preseason. His No. 13 had been claimed by wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who’d worn the jersey with Beckham’s blessing for three seasons since joining the Giants as a rookie in 2023.
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But Hyatt didn’t make the cut on Sunday. The Giants have since re-signed him to their practice squad after he cleared waivers. But his release from the active roster made for a clean and obvious transition back to No. 13 for Beckham, who talked Monday about what wearing his old number would mean after learning that he’d made the cut.
“I think we all know what that means to me,” Beckham told reporters. “And there definitely will be some conversations. I’ll just say, we’ll see what happens. But it would be an honor an a privilege to put that back on.”
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It’s not clear if any negotiations were had or even necessary with Hyatt considering Hyatt’s relegation to the practice squad.
However it transpired, Beckham will make his game-day return with the Giants in Week 1 in a matchup that recalls the moment he made No. 13 his own — at home on “Sunday Night Football” against the Dallas Cowboys:
That iconic catch in 2014 and three stellar seasons to start his Giants career appeared to put No. 13 on track to be retired in New York. But a devastating ankle injury in his fourth season derailed that path, and Beckham hasn’t been quite the same player since.
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Beckham’s since played as many seasons away from the Giants (five) as he initially did with them. But his return alongside that of his No. 13 will be a welcome sight for Giants fans at MetLife Stadium under the bright lights of “Sunday Night Football” on Sept. 13.
