By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings are preparing to face the New Orleans Saints on the road on Sunday. They made a notable addition to the roster, so let’s dive into the notes from TCO Performance Center…
Odell Beckham Jr. joins the Vikings
On Wednesday, the Vikings made waves when they signed veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to their practice squad.
Beckham Jr. had been with the New York Giants, making their 53-man roster out of camp after not playing in 2025. He did not see much of the field, only being targeted once in three games before the Giants waived him.
He elected to join the Vikings after Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell texted him to ask if he was interested in coming to Minnesota.
“I was with KO in L.A. and I had a great time while I was there with him,” Beckham Jr. said on Tuesday, in full Vikings gear. “He’s just somebody who I’ve watched come over here and always knew when he was [in Los Angeles] that he was built for what he’s doing now. He… texted me and it’s always good to be somewhere where you are wanted. He was the one who reached out and kind of made this whole thing happen.”
O’Connell seemed excited at the podium talking about the addition of Beckham Jr., saying that that felt like being “a little banged up in the receiver room” and possibly needing to elevate players as they did with Dillon Bell and Jeshaun Jones in previous weeks, he gave them another option.
“I have a great history with him going back to 2021, spending a lot of time with him when he came in midseason and getting him ready to help us and just how impactful he was down the stretch of that season,” O’Connell said.
With Justin Jefferson hopeful to return and Jordan Addison on the injury report with a hamstring injury (that O’Connell said isn’t believed to be serious), there is a possibility that Beckham Jr. could be needed right away. O’Connell seemed confident that Beckham Jr. would be ready in time to play if the situation called for it.
“I’ve seen him do it before,” O’Connell said. “I’ll never forget, we brought him in, I think on a Thursday and as he walked on the field in practice, Robert Woods went down with a knee injury and he had to play that week. And he was able to handle it.”
Back in 2022, the Vikings acquired TJ Hockenson mid-week from the Detroit Lions at the trade deadline and played him the entire game against the Washington Commanders, so it’s certainly possible.
The question is how much Beckham Jr. could give to the lineup at this point in his career. He had nine receptions for 55 yards in 2024 and hasn’t produced a game with more than 20 yards since Week 17, 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Vikings saw Beckham in the opening preseason game and O’Connell said that it appears he’s ready to go.
“He was prepared in great shape, his tape from the preseason looked really good, explosive, looked like Odell Beckham to me,” O’Connell said. “The fact that he’s got fresh legs off of a little break there for a week and he can come in and hit the ground running.”
One of the things that O’Connell said he admires about Beckham Jr. is his passion for playing the game. He could have easily retired as one of the best receivers of the decade and has continued to push into his mid-30s to keep playing.
“It’s been a great career but the guy loves football,” O’Connell said. “I was only around him for that kind of half the season, whatever it ended up being in 2021 and we hit it off. I love the person. I love the energy, the joy he has to play football.”
Football.
So the natural question about Beckham Jr. is, why did the Vikings make this move?
Was it because KOC simply loves Beckham Jr. and saw an opportunity to add a player that he’s familiar with to his 4-0 roster or is there more to it?
One theory could be that they are looking for more than what Jauan Jennings has brought to the table. He has just two catches on four targets for nine yards in three games.
O’Connell was asked about Jennings’ lack of production thus far.
“I think Jauan has done a lot of really good things in the run game for us and he’s had a couple chances where maybe either the rhythm and timing or just a little more detail showing up….but we’re not far off, and Jauan going to be a guy that’s going to make some plays for us,” O’Connell said.
Could they be hoping that Beckham Jr.’s skillset is a better fit than what they’ve seen from Jennings?
That seems like a bit of a stretch considering the recent production for both players but the mention of “detail” is notable. O’Connell’s scheme requires a lot from wide receivers in terms of alignments, route depths and timing.
The other part might be that Tai Felton has been on the field for 56 plays and has just one target. It hasn’t appeared like he’s earned the trust of Kyler Murray thus far.
This weekend’s game could give us some answers on where they really see Beckham Jr. fitting in.