Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to the New York Giants was always destined to stir memories, but quarterback Jaxson Dart has found the receiver more interested in helping those around him than recreating the celebrity of his first spell.

Beckham opened training camp trying to earn a place on the roster at 33, having sat out the entire 2025 season. His reputation assures him attention that few players competing for a depth role would receive, yet Dart says the former All-Pro has not treated the comeback as a personal production.

“I’m definitely excited about O,” Dart said after the Giants’ opening camp practice. “I think the big thing is you never know how somebody’s going to respond from having that time off coming back.

“I think that his ability to pour into his team-mates — and you would think a lot of times when there’s a big comeback that it’s about the individual himself — but he’s really just about the team-mates, the guys around him. I’ve loved having him here so far. He’s just a great guy. He’s a great leader.

“He’s had the ultimate experience of the highs and the lows, and I think that the more that you’re able to communicate with him, get perspectives from him, with him also being, obviously, a really good player, is huge for our team.”

Those highs began with the Giants, who selected Beckham 12th overall in 2014 and watched him become one of the NFL’s most recognisable performers almost immediately. He amassed 5,476 receiving yards and 44 touchdowns in five seasons with New York before being traded to Cleveland in 2019. His career since has been interrupted by major knee injuries, even though the second of his two torn ACLs came while helping the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI. Beckham last played for Miami in 2024, catching nine passes in nine appearances before he and the Dolphins parted company.

There is no presumption of a roster place in New York. Head coach John Harbaugh, who previously worked with Beckham in Baltimore, said when the receiver signed that his past achievements would not lower the standard he must reach now.

“You can’t be just okay,” Harbaugh said in the Giants’ June press availability. “You’re Odell Beckham. You’ve got to come out here and you have to be performing at a high level in workout, you’ve got to be performing at a high level in practice. You’ve got to be a guy capable that we can see would have a chance to make a difference in NFL games.”

Beckham accepted that premise on his return. He said nothing in his career had been given to him and acknowledged that he is no longer the 195-pound receiver who could expect the ball on every important down. He nevertheless believes he is healthier than during his season with Harbaugh in Baltimore and has been recorded running at between 20 and 21mph during his preparations.

“I’m still finding ways to get open,” Beckham said. “It will be very attentive to detail, very locked in, knowing this is your opportunity. It’s just a different game. But I’m still ready. God has given me one more opportunity to play. Whatever I do with that is that. I’m not saying this is my only year and I’m not saying that I’ve got five more for you. I’m just looking at it like this is my opportunity now. We’ll see where it goes from there.”

Beckham’s potential value also extends to Malik Nabers, the Giants’ leading receiver and another former LSU standout. Beckham said he had offered advice to Nabers even before returning to New York, particularly as the younger player worked through injury and the scrutiny that followed his public frustration during difficult moments.

Dart is also trying to establish a relationship with Nabers after the pair shared fewer than two quarters of game action last season. Adding Beckham gives the second-year quarterback another receiver to learn, but also someone capable of guiding a young offensive group through the attention that comes with playing in New York.

Beckham once supplied much of that attention himself. His route back to the Giants will ultimately be decided by whether he can still separate from defenders and withstand the daily demands of camp, but Dart’s early assessment suggests his return is no exercise in nostalgia.