The last time we saw Odell Beckham Jr. on the field, he was playing in a meaningless preseason game that took on a lot more meaning when this happened:

Beckham's injured ankle kept him sidelined for three weeks, including the Giants' season-opening loss against the Cowboys in which the offense was out of sorts all game. On Thursday, the team got some good news: Beckham returned to practice, taking part in drills.

"There's no hiding the fact [Beckham's] a playmaker. Our best player. It's pretty obvious," quarterback Eli Manning said Wednesday, days after he completed 22 of 39 passes for 220 yards, no touchdowns and an interception against the Cowboys. "I think everybody knows that. It's different when he's on the field, but on there or not, we have to play better than what we did and we can and we will."

Without Beckham, running back Shane Vereen was the team's leading receiver, with nine catches for just 51 yards. And Brandon Marshall, signed in the offseason to bolster the wide receivers corps, had a single catch for 10 yards.

"We got to start faster. We got to be more efficient," Marshall said after the game, via the New York Daily News. "If we do that, who knows how the game goes? There's opportunities for other guys. Offensively, we just didn't do a great job today."

Despite managing just one catch, Marshall isn't concerned about his chemistry with Manning.

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "I'm worried about the offense being more efficient and starting faster."

Put another way: The Giants' offense will look a lot better once Beckham is healthy enough to return.

It remains to be seen if Beckham will see the field when the Giants host the Lions on Monday night; coach Ben McAdoo would only say that the wideout was "limited" at practice on Thursday.

If your interest is suddenly piqued, Beckham was reportedly seen in a club engaging in a dance-off with Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook days before the Cowboys game.