Skip to main content

Eli Manning on Odell Beckham: 'He looks healthy'

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. hasn't done much work on the field during the offseason as he returns from a broken ankle.

While Beckham was cleared to practice for the mandatory minicamp, the star wide receiver was limited to individual drills.

Nevertheless, quarterback Eli Manning liked what he saw from his top receiving threat.

During a Friday one-on-one interview with NFL Network's Rhett Lewis while at the annual Manning Passing Academy on the campus of Nicholls State in Louisiana, Manning revealed he and Beckham got together after a Giants minicamp practice and ran a few routes.

"He looks great," Manning said. "He looks healthy."

Manning's proclamation provides good news ahead of training camp, and the Giants appear primed to get the best out of Beckham on the field.

With a fully healthy Beckham, the Giants have one of the league's elite wide receivers.

Beckham produced three straight 1,000-yard receiving campaigns and 35 touchdowns from 2014 to 2016, before being limited to just four games and two starts in 2017.

"I think last year it was tough on him being injured and going through those things," Manning said. "He wants to come out and have a big year, play well and get to scoring touchdowns and celebrating and having fun again. I think he misses that part of his life -- the excitement of playing football and winning games, and enjoying that part of it."

In the meantime, what Beckham would probably enjoy even more ahead of the regular season entails stability in his contract.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection is set to enter the 2018 season on the final year of his rookie deal, which pays a base salary of $8.4 million, and his production offers a strong argument to command a contract worthy of the top receivers in the league.

Beckham, however, recently told reporters he would attend training camp, so the Giants apparently won't need to worry about an ugly contract dispute in the late summer months.