DELL YEAH!
Shula excited to work with OBJ, if he’s here
NO ONE likely was happier to see Tuesday’s Rams trade for Patriots wideout Brandin Cooks than Pat Shurmur, the Giants head coach who in an ideal world would try to light the NFL on fire with Odell Beckham Jr. as his offensive centerpiece in 2018.
The Rams-Patriots deal took Beckham’s only publicly-known suitor and most logical fit off the board as a potential trade partner for GM Dave Gettleman. So, with Beckham still a Giant, at least for now, the offensive coaches can continue to treat OBJ as a significant part of this team’s imminent future.
“I think that (Beckham) is obviously a vital part of our offense,” offensive coordinator Mike Shula said Wednesday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, where coordinators and assistant coaches were available to local media for the first time since their hirings. “And when you have guys that can make plays and put points on the board, you want to try to feature them as much as you can.”
Beckham’s situation obviously is more complicated than just the Giants’ opinion of whether or not he’s a good player, though. If that were the deciding factor, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Beckham’s future with the Giants is uncertain because he wants a lucrative, long-term contract extension entering the fifth and final year of his rookie deal; the Giants are reticent to pay OBJ’s price due to the controversial elements of his personality and behavior; and after the Daily News’ report last week that the Giants and Rams were talking a possible Beckham trade, Gettleman and Giants ownership refused to commit to OBJ being a Giant in 2018.
Shula said he’s excited to work with a player as talented as