On Wed, Oct 7, the Minnesota Vikings signed veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr to their practice squad in a move that accounted for providing more veteran depth at the wideout position. Beckham was one of the best receivers in the league in his first six seasons, but injuries have plagued him in the past six seasons in limiting him to just 47 games since 2020. Beckham recently returned to the New York Giants, but was cut after three weeks and no receptions in any of those games. Now Beckham joins a Vikings wide receiver room dealing with injuries to its top two pieces in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Beckham has previous experience with Kevin O’Connell, whom he played under when O’Connell was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 season. Beckham won a Super Bowl ring five years ago, but in that game played at SoFi Stadium he torn his ACL and missed the entire 2022 season. Beckham played in 14 games for the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 season, when he caught 35 receptions for 565 receiving yards and three touchdowns. But Beckham once again faced injury woes that limited him to nine games with the Miami Dolphins in the 2024 season and he did not play a single game last year. With five 1,000-yard seasons in the first six years in his career, Beckham is trying to rediscover his groove and now he might get that chance with Minnesota, which is in dire need of receiver depth.
Jefferson and Beckham both share a couple of things in common. Firstly, they have both had generational beginnings to their career, as Jefferson has accounted for a 1,000-yard season in receiving yards in each of his first six seasons in the NFL and Beckham would have achieved that same accolade if he was not limited to four games in the 2017 season. Also, both of them played collegiately at the same alma mater in LSU, where Beckham played his entire collegiate career and Jefferson had two seasons of significant contributions to the Tigers football team. When LSU won the College Football Playoff National Championship in Jan 2020, Beckham was present at the Mercedes-Benz(now Caesars) SuperDome to congratulate Jefferson and the other star LSU players who would be drafted a few months later into the NFL.
With Jefferson attempting to return from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined in the Vikings’ Week 4 victory against the Dolphins and Addison dealing with a hamstring injury that is not expected to keep him out for the Week 5 game against the New Orleans Saints, Beckham’s addition comes at an opportune time for Minnesota, which has dealt with other injuries to its offensive skill players. Josh Oliver is out with a torn biceps injury and is not expected to return during the regular season and Jordan Mason is still on injured reserve with a torn thumb ligament. A lack of production from the third wide receiver in Jauan Jennings and minimal offensive contributions from Tai Felton and Myles Price(who is the main kick and punt returner this season) prompted the signing of Beckham, who could be elevated from the practice squad for the game in New Orleans.
Kyler Murray is trying his best to lead an offense that hasn’t been productive in terms of going on drives that have ended in the end zone. With 31 of the past 32 offensive drives for the Vikings failing to produce a touchdown, things seem frustrating from the offensive end of things. But Murray had a strong and steady fourth quarter in leading two long drives that had positive end results as he completed plenty of passes to T.J Hockenson and helped close out an ugly but hard-earned win over Miami. If Beckham is elevated to the active roster for the Oct 11 game against the Saints, then Murray will have another key player to throw the ball to on selective play calls. Beckham could be a third or fourth wide receiver depending on how many snaps he is on the field when compared with Jennings, who only has two catches for nine yards in three games so far in the 2026 season. Murray would not be the first big-name QB that Beckham has shared the field with in his career, as he has caught passes from Eli Manning, Baker Mayfield, Matthew Stafford and Lamar Jackson. Hopefully Beckham can be a key contributor for however long he is on the roster for an undefeated Minnesota team seeking a 5-0 start for the second time in three seasons.
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