Odell Beckham Jr. is returning to the New York Giants, the franchise announced Monday. Beckham spent his first five NFL seasons with the Giants, compiling 5,476 receiving yards and 44 touchdown catches and earning three Pro Bowl selections.
Beckham was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and later had stints with the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins before sitting out the 2025 season. His move back to New York continues a trend of high-profile players rejoining the teams where they first rose to prominence.
Among recent examples is Keenan Allen, who began his career with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2013-23 and returned for a second stint in 2025. Allen made six Pro Bowls in his first run, totaling 10,530 yards on 904 receptions with 59 touchdowns. After missing nearly all of 2016 with an ACL tear, he posted a career-high 1,393 yards and six touchdowns in 2017 and won Comeback Player of the Year. The Chargers traded Allen to the Chicago Bears for the 2024 season, and he returned to Los Angeles on a one-year deal in 2025, recording 777 yards on 81 receptions and four touchdowns.
Charles Woodson also returned to his original franchise. Selected No. 4 in 1998, Woodson was a four-time Pro Bowl selection early in his career, won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned a first-team All-Pro nod. He helped the team reach the Super Bowl in 2002, signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and spent seven seasons there before returning for a second stint from 2013-15. Woodson played three more years for the franchise before retiring in 2016.
Other notable returns since 2000 include James Harrison (first stint 2002, 2004-12; second stint 2014-17), an undrafted linebacker who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 and was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams; Randy Moss (1998-2004; 2010), who led the league with 17 touchdowns as a rookie and returned for a brief 2010 stint; and Cam Newton (2011-19; 2021), the Panthers’ Offensive Rookie of the Year and MVP who led the franchise to Super Bowl 50 and started five games during a November 2021 return.
