Beckham sore, optimistic and impish after first game back
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. » After catching 11 passes and being targeted 15 times in his first game since breaking an ankle 11 months ago, New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. was admittedly sore.
The NFL’s highest- paid receiver was also happy about his game, optimistic about the future, and even a little impish in dealing with his nearby locker room buddy, Saquon Barkley.
For a night, the 25-year- old Beckham walked off with the ball the No. 2 overall draft pick carried on his first NFL touchdown, a 68-yard run against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 20-15 loss.
When asked about the ball Thursday, Beckham kept the joke going.
“No, that’s at my house. It’s gone already,” he quipped as the Giants continued preparations for a Sunday night game in Dallas. “No, I gave it back to him. It’s funny how just being in the locker room, it’s like your brother and you’re joking around with him. Next thing you know, it’s across the entire world. It really was nothing more than me just messing around with my boys. I gave him his ball back.”
Beckham grinned after finishing the sentence, another sign the 25-year- old is enjoying a second chance to play the game he loves after a serious injury to his left ankle.
Barkley confirmed he has the ball.
“There was no way I was not getting that ball back,” Barkley