Will be at workouts
ODELL Beckham Jr. plans to be at the Giants’ facility today for the start of the team’s offseason workouts, the Daily News has confirmed.
Beckham’s decision to fly crosscountry from Los Angeles is significant because new coach Pat Shurmur is on record saying he expects all players to be there as the Giants try to install new systems and expectations and develop/strengthen new relationships in his first year as coach.
Not showing up today would have gotten Beckham off to an inauspicious start with a coach who was (and is) willing to give him a fresh start — and who is excited about the prospect of coaching the star receiver.
Reporting on time with his teammates — even though attendance is technically optional — is a meaningful gesture from Beckham that he wants to be a part of Shurmur’s new version of the Giants.
It’s especially significant after the March 26 NFL Network report that Beckham did not intend to step on a football field without a new contract. Beckham’s decision to come to the start of optional workouts demonstrates that he is eager to show the Giants his ankle is rehabilitated and that his relationship with Shurmur is important to him. Beckham’s contract impasse with the Giants — and the organization’s willingness to discuss possibly trading him with other NFL GMs, including the Rams’, which the Daily News first reported, has created major uncertainty about his future with the organization.
Beckham is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract but wants a lucrative, long-term contract extension. But co-owner John Mara made clear at the owners’ meetings recently in Orlando that he’s not comfortable (not yet, at least) with making such an investment in Beckham.
And the refusal of Mara, co-owner Steve Tisch, GM Dave Gettleman and Shurmur in Orlando to commit to Beckham being a Giant in 2018 generated further uncertainty and put more pressure on the situation.
Last offseason, Beckham skipped all of the Giants’ OTAs and optional offseason workouts to stress that he wanted negotiations to begin. This offseason, after meeting with Shurmur in Los Angeles during the coach’s quarterback scouting tour, Beckham is reporting despite Tisch saying negotiations on a contract extension were in their most preliminary and earliest stages.
It will be interesting to see if Beckham’s presence helps his camp and the Giants draw closer soon to getting that long-term contract extension done. Beckham reportedly wants $20 million per year. Regardless, Beckham’s decision to report today feels like it could be an important step in that direction.