Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporter 10y

Beckham catching actual passes in practice

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For weeks now, when the New York Giants have started their daily practices, rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has scuttled over to a side field and run by himself under the supervision of a trainer. The team's first-round draft pick has not gone through a full practice with his team since the spring, as a hamstring injury on the first day of training camp has kept him sidelined for the past two months.

 But something changed Tuesday, and it could lead to Beckham making his Giants debut relatively soon -- possibly even in Week 5 at home against the Falcons.

Beckham stretched with the team before practice on Tuesday, something he hasn't done every day. When stretching ended, instead of going off to that back field, he went with running back Rashad Jennings and followed him through his normal pre-practice stretching and jogging routine. Beckham has recently been seeking guidance from Jennings, who has an extensive routine he calls "pre-hab" to keep himself healthy and in shape. The rookie has been shadowing the veteran running back before games and, now apparently, practices.

After his session with Jennings ended, when it was time for position groups to practice together, Beckham jogged over with the rest of the wide receivers and joined them for individual position drills, which was also new. And then, when it was time for the receivers and tight ends to line up and practice running their routes and catching passes from Eli Manning, he joined in there as well. We saw him catch two passes before practice was closed to the media.

This is tangible and significant progress for Beckham, and if the Giants' game this week was Sunday, I'd say it leaves open the slightest of chances he could play in it. But they'd be crazy to play him Thursday night in Washington after only one NFL practice, ever, and that's why I expect them to treat this as progress and build on it. We'll know more in an hour or so when we talk to coach Tom Coughlin and the players in the locker room, but for now I'd expect the Giants to list Beckham as a limited practice participant, which would be an upgrade over where he's been since the season started.

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