Connor Hughes: OBJ earns Giants spot, Jets still have work to do? | SportsNite
On SportsNite, SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes joins Chelsea Sherrod to deliver a roundup of all the biggest storylines surrounding New York football after roster cutdown day, including Odell Beckham Jr. earning his spot on the Giants roster, and what's next for Darren Mougey and the Jets to get their roster ready for Week 1.
Video Transcript
Connor, you've watched OBJ closely this summer.
He was good in camp.
How much will that translate to the season?
We'll see.
I, I, I think, Chelsea, expectations probably need to be tempered some because, Odell is not the All-Pro receiver he used to be.
He's not the Pro Bowl receiver he used to be.
He's not the guy who when he left the Giants seven years ago, was it now, was considered to be by many one of, if not the best receivers in the NFL.
But I also, Chelsea, don't think any of that really matters because this story here, the fact that Odell's back with the Giants, and deservedly so, is a testament to him and the journey that he's been on to get to this point.
Because, look, this guy hasn't played football, a, a regular season game, since December of 2024.
The game that we saw, the, the preseason finale where he had 53 yards receiving, that was the first time he went over 50 yards in a game since December of 2023.
This is a guy that the entire NFL, in some ways even the Giants, wrote off.
And when they decided to bring him back in, I think some of it was maybe as a favor to Beckham because of what the franchise has meant to him and his relationship with John Harbaugh.
But once Beckham got in this building and you started to see him work and see practice, while you realize that he's not the player he once was, he still has quite a lot left to give, and the Giants are ready to put him on the field to see exactly how much that is and how much of a difference he can make.
Because the one thing we did learn, Chelsea- Yeah the guy can still get open.
Definitely can.
Connor, though, to wide receiver Braxton Berrios.
He was released by the Giants Sunday, so what's the latest on him?
Yeah, that's a, that's just a transac- transactional thing, Chelsea.
So when, when you're, a veteran or a vested veteran, you're not subject to the waiver wire.
So it, affords Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh a little bit of roster flexibility to do some gymnastics with the position because they can release Braxton Berrios, maneuver some things around, wait a day to put somebody on the injured reserve, things like that.
And then Berrios is just sitting there not subject to the waiver wire, so the Giants can re-sign him in a day.
He's gonna be on this team heading into week one.
I expect him to be their kick returner and punt returner week one.
So Berrios, while not on the Giants' initial 53-man roster, he'll be on the one that actually matters when the regular season begins.
All right.
Good perspective there.
Now, over to the Jets, Connor.
Are there any notable guys that did or did not make the roster for Gang Green?
This is such a weird one where I, I think the answer is no.
I mean, I, I guess you can argue a little bit that Braden McGregor making it was somewhat of a surprise, but I don't even think that's too big of an argument there.
You're talking about a reserve defensive end, Chelsea.
I, I think the big thing with the Jets here, though, is what might still be coming for this team, whether that is waiver wire additions because they have the second claim, trades of that nature.
And specifically the position I would keep an eye on, because there are a couple teams around there that kept four quarterbacks in Philly and in Pittsburgh, where the Jets could absolutely use a backup behind Geno Smith.
They like Cade Klubnik a lot.
They like the potential and future of Cade Klubnik.
But this organization realizes that if Cade needs to play a game any time before Thanksgiving, the Jets are probably in trouble.
So you have two guys over there in Philly just down the turnpike in Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton, both of whom made the Eagles roster.
But that might be Howie Roseman down there just trying to keep them a little bit longer to see if he can't get some kind of draft pick compensation for them back.
Same thing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where I believe it's Mason Rudolph, Drew Aller, and Will Howard all making that roster as well with Aaron Rodgers.
So, that quarterback spot specifically, what the Jets end up doing, that's what I'm keeping my eye on more so than who they did or didn't cut.
