IT DONE NOW
Giant GM must end Odell drama
other GMs for OBJ.
There will be Beckham’s first opportunity to speak for himself about his infamous viral video, about how he feels seeing the Giants are considering trading him, about his desire for a major contract, and about his frustration that a deal isn’t done, to name just a few of the obvious topics.
The deadline for the Giants to make a decision here, in other words, might not be the start of the NFL Draft on the night of April 26; there is a strong argument that it’s April 9.
Unless Dave Gettleman didn’t mean what he said Tuesday that “a big part of my responsibility” is “eliminating those distractions to allow coaches to coach and players to play.” For he would be failing Shurmur and his job description by letting this drag on.
A large part of me believes, though, that Gettleman wants to resolve this as quickly as anyone.
Think about it: Gettleman is 67 years old. He has wanted this job his whole life, and he has waited nearly that long to get it. He’s worked 30 years in the league, including from 1998-2012 as a personnel executive for the Giants and from 2013-16 as the Carolina Panthers’ GM, before finally getting the call to the big seat running Big Blue.
I would be shocked, as Gettleman lays the groundwork to hopefully stabilize the Giants and leave a legacy of turning around the proud franchise, if the general manager would allow Beckham’s situation to derail all of that just four months into his tenure, before his version of a Giants team even has played a game.
Shurmur, of course, is an offensive head coach who would love nothing more than to coach a player as talented as Beckham.
So Shurmur no doubt hopes — as he understood after meeting Beckham in California last week — that OBJ still intends to show up in East Rutherford on April 9. Not only would Shurmur be able to see Beckham run and demonstrate a healthy ankle in person; the coach also actually could work with Beckham and maybe develop a rapport that strengthens the relationship between not only coach and player but Beckham and the organization.
“I really don’t think you can get to know somebody by just seeing reports, reading reports, hearing what people think and say,” Shurmur said Tuesday at the annual NFL coaches breakfast in Orlando. “I think it’s really important, especially in the player-coach relationship, that I get to know him.”
One major unanswered question, though, is if Beckham’s and the Giants’ relationship is damaged beyond repair given the club’s willingness to consider trading the star wideout and its reluctance to negotiate substantially as of this week, as Tisch revealed.
Regardless, there are several hypothetical solutions here: the Giants could blink first and pay OBJ the contract he desires despite their concerns over such a commitment; Beckham in some far-off, unexpected universe technically could lower his reported $20 million-plus asking price substantially.
Beckham, in another decision that would be shocking, could relent completely on his demands and play on the fifth and final year of his rookie contract; or, as the Giants continue to take calls from other teams on Beckham, Gettleman eventually could pull the trigger on a trade.
There is no league consensus, by the way, on whether the Giants’ reported increased ask of two first-round picks for Beckham is too much or a fair price. Each NFL agent or scout or coach or GM I’ve talked to has had a different opinion, though I would say a majority believe a first-round pick (even a late one) plus a second-or-thirdrounder could get it done if a trade does happen.
Whatever Gettleman and the Giants decide, however, they must do it soon.
When Shurmur’s Giants open offseason workouts on April 9, the conversation needs to be about football and nothing else. And unless the Giants sign or trade Beckham prior, it will be about OBJ and everything else.