The New York Giants made some very exciting decisions this offseason for the future of the franchise. Getting John Harbaugh as their head coach is one of the big reasons for excitement, but signing Odell Beckham Jr. was another very fun move for Giants fans.
But after just three weeks and barely any playing time, the Giants released Beckham. From the outside looking in, the addition of Beckham clearly looks like a waste. However, there was actually a good reason for the signing.
As Jonathan Jones of The Athletic highlighted, the addition of Beckham helped out Malik Nabers more than anyone. But how? It’s simple: Bekcham’s helped Nabers coming off his ACL injury, helping to guide him amid a tricky injury recovery.
How Odell Beckham Jr. helped Malik Nabers despite not playing for Giants
“Beckham has been there for Nabers every step of the way, a team source tells me,” Jones writes. “The fellow LSU Tiger has been huge for Nabers’ confidence as he returned to action, drawing from Beckham’s own experiences after he tore his ACL twice in his career.”
If strictly looking at on-field production, the Beckham signing didn’t amount to anything positive. But, digging a bit deeper, the move was a huge help for the Giants this season.
His presence helped Beckham come back from a serious ACL and meniscus injury and surgery this past offseason.
Nabers was very uncertain for Week 1, enough that he didn’t invite family out to watch the game because he truly didn’t know if he was going to play or not.
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But Nabers played, looked good, and has been good to go since then. While there’s still room to play better, Nabers has shown he’s a lot more confident than he was before the season began.
If that confidence was built thanks to Beckham, as Jones’ report indicates, then the signing of the franchise legend was more than worth it.
Not only was it a fun storyline, but Beckham being able to help Nabers through a serious injury recovery covers the price of signing Beckham this offseason, even though he didn’t do anything on the field for the Giants before being cut.
So, while the Beckham signing might’ve seemed odd from the outside looking in, it seems clear that he was more than worth the addition, considering how he helped Nabers build confidence in his return from serious injury.
