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John Harbaugh doesn’t mince words on Giants cutting Odell Beckham: ‘It’s not Watergate’

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Dunleavy, R. (2026, September 30). John Harbaugh doesn’t mince words on Giants cutting Odell Beckham: ‘It’s not Watergate’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/sports/john-harbaugh-doesnt-mince-words-on-giants-cutting-odell-beckham/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-30 · by Ryan Dunleavy

Quick Summary

John Harbaugh, head coach of the New York Giants, addressed the team's decision to cut Odell Beckham Jr., stating it was purely a strategic move and not part of any conspiracy. Harbaugh explained during Wednesday’s practice that Beckham wasn’t providing enough value to the offense despite being on the roster for three games this season. He reassured that there were no hidden motives behind the decision, emphasizing transparency and straightforwardness in his communication with Beckham.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Giants are releasing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after just three games without a single catch, according to an anonymous source from the team. Beckham, 33, was drafted by the Giants in 2014 and signed with them again this June for a nostalgic return. Despite fan chants of "OBJ! OBJ!" during his brief stint back with the team, Beckham saw minimal playing time; he was only targeted once in three games. The decision to release him came after an injury that would have allowed Beckham more playing time did not materialize as planned, highlighting the team's struggle to integrate him into their offense effectively. Coach John Harbaugh emphasized that the move is purely about what’s best for the team and denied any conspiracy theories surrounding the decision.

Written for “Giants Release Odell Beckham Jr” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Giants Release Odell Beckham Jr
Sports · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 69/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Odell Beckham Jr.'s situation with the Giants, one about his playing time and potential role in an upcoming game, and the other about him being released from the team.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
1 of 31 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15783 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ryan Dunleavy
69 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Tanking would make sense — if the Colts hadn’t previously traded their first-round pick to the Jets.
🔮 If John Harbaugh were picking between two Michigan-bred quarterbacks this week, the Giants would start J.J. McCarthy over Tom Brady.
🔮 Edmunds will go from logging every defensive snap in the first six games to missing every snap in the final 11, The Post confirmed, after he was injured late in last week’s game against the Saints.
🔮 Maybe it’s time for the NFL to change its logo to include a player’s hand punching at the football that sits atop the shield.
🔮 “Maybe now 20 percent of that 30 that was gone is back,” Nagy said before Thursday’s practice.
🔮 McCarthy’s last pass — on fourth-and-1 from the 14-yard line with 12 seconds remaining — fell incomplete or else the Giants would’ve had a chance to win the game or send it to overtime despite trailing 34-10 when the quarterback change was made with 11:36 to go.
🔮 tRY IT NOW“I would love for us to be in that kind of a circumstance,” Harbaugh said.
🔮 If J.J. McCarthy was guaranteed to throw for 943 yards, rush for 104 yards and lead 12 scoring drives in his next start, then the Giants wouldn’t have a quarterback controversy on their hands.
🔮 “I’m feeling good,” Mauigoa said, indicating he will be on the field again soon.
🔮 Skattebo knew ahead of Sunday’s game that he was not going to start and that his playing time would be diminished as a result of four fumbles in the first five games, but he wasn’t expecting to be limited to six offensive snaps (all in the first half) and no touches in the 34-27 loss to the Saints.
Also by Ryan Dunleavy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 69 articles by Ryan Dunleavy →

Topics

49ers Giants Titans Watergate

Subjects

Beckham PERSON · 8× Harbaugh PERSON · 7× Giants ORG · 6× 49ers ORG · 1× Braxton Berrios PERSON · 1× Charlie Jones PERSON · 1× John Harbaugh PERSON · 1× Odell Beckham Jr.’s PERSON · 1× Paul Schwartz PERSON · 1× Titans ORG · 1×

Narrative

- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NFL STANDINGS AND GIANTS STATS Harbaugh said there are “a lot of layers” and subtleties to playing time as coaches put together game plans and call plays that he does not feel obliged to share publicly. He spoke last week about hoping the opportunities would come for Beckham against the Titans, but it didn’t work out that way and it was “nothing he did.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 - CHECK OUT THE LATEST NFL STANDINGS AND GIANTS STATS Harbaugh said there are “a lot of layers” and subtleties to playing time as coaches put together game plans and call plays that he does not feel obliged to share publicly. He spoke last week about hoping the opportunities would come for Beckham against the Titans, but it didn’t work out that way and it was “nothing he did.”

Claims (31 extracted, 1 hedged)

Head coach John Harbaugh made it clear that the reason Beckham’s celebrated second stint with the Giants was cut short after just three games had nothing to do with the fans chanting his name last game as a way of begging him onto the field, or the outsized media attention he draws as a No. 4 receiver playing 20 snaps (zero catches on one target). asserted
he → make → target
tRY IT NOW“It’s what’s best for the team — and if you think it’s anything else then you don’t know me and you don’t know what we are doing here asserted
we → try → what
,” Harbaugh said after Wednesday’s practice. asserted
Harbaugh → say → practice
“(His roster spot) is not doing enough for our offense, not doing enough for our team. asserted
spot → do → team
So we need to make a change. asserted
we → need → change
He’s not thrilled with it, either. asserted
He → thrill → it
He wants to play. asserted
He → want → ?
We’re trying to win games. asserted
We → try → games
It’s the last thing I care about. asserted
I → ’ → ?
I’m not hiding anything. asserted
I → hide → anything
It’s not Watergate.” asserted
It → ’ → ?
Harbaugh delivered the “difficult” news to Beckham on Tuesday and wished him well as he searches for an offense that better fits his revival. asserted
that → deliver → revival
Beckham is said to have been gracious in his departure. asserted
Beckham → say → departure
“We just weren’t getting enough,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → get → enough
“It just wasn’t working for us. asserted
It → work → us
I told him, ‘I wanted to get him on the field more.’ asserted
I → tell → field
For whatever reason, we weren’t able to do it. asserted
we → do → it
The Giants replaced Beckham with receivers Braxton Berrios (who maxed out his three practice-squad elevations) and Charlie Jones. asserted
who → replace → elevations
Both have return ability. asserted
Both → have → ability
Why didn’t Beckham — who is not returning to the practice squad — get more opportunities when the Giants haven’t scored a touchdown in two games? asserted
Giants → return → games
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NFL STANDINGS AND GIANTS STATS Harbaugh said there are “a lot of layers” and subtleties to playing time as coaches put together game plans and call plays that he does not feel obliged to share publicly. He spoke last week about hoping the opportunities would come for Beckham against the Titans, but it didn’t work out that way and it was “nothing he did.” asserted
he → check → Titans
“It’s not like a logic high school debate,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → ’ → debate
“We didn’t think it would make us better, or we would have had him on the field. asserted
we → think → field
That’s really the end of the conversation.” asserted
That → ’ → conversation
Beckham often made it clear that he only wanted to play for the Giants to complete a full-circle journey with the franchise where he became an icon from 2014-18. asserted
he → make → 2014
But he left Harbaugh with the impression that he could resurface somewhere else after coming back from missing all last season. uncertain
he → leave → season
Beckham’s iconic No. 13 jersey now belongs to third-string quarterback Jake Haener. asserted
jersey → belong → Haener
“I hope he lands somewhere, gets a shot,” Harbaugh said. asserted
Harbaugh → hope → shot
“I think he’s determined to. asserted
he → think → ?
It just wasn’t working here. asserted
It → work → ?
That’s all that needs to be said.” asserted
that → ’ → ?
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