Beckham Jr. back in NYC
At least Odell Beckham Jr. was in New York City on Thursday night.
About 9 miles away from where Giants OTAs take place, Beckham took part in an event at a Verizon store near Bryant Park in which the first 100 fans in attendance were able to take a photo with the wide receiver.
It’s a step in the right direction for the Giants’ leading receiver after he spent much of this offseason in Los Angeles away from team activities, instead spending time with the likes of Iggy Azalea and Johnny Manziel.
It is still unknown whether Beckham will attend the mandatory minicamp next week — he said he would last month — but that was before he failed to show up to any of the voluntary workouts.
Nevertheless, that did not affect the mood of the fans who stood in line waiting for the opportunity to take a picture with Beckham.
“It’s not a big deal because he’s been doing his own training,” Kevin from Queens said. “A lot of football players have skipped OTAs before.”
Although Beckham does have the right to skip the OTAs, which are voluntary under league rules, some have worried it doesn’t send the right message to the rest of the team. Beckham, who caught a career-high 101 passes last season, is a key member of an offense that struggled for the majority of the 2016 season, ranking No. 25 in total offense.
Without Beckham participating in practice, the Giants cannot begin to implement different play packages to improve upon the ranking or work new weapons Brandon Marshall and first-round pick Evan Engram into the mix.
“I’m a little concerned,” Trish from Long Island said. “As an athlete, you do have to always be training.”
While Beckham’s work ethic mostly has not been in question, his commitment to the Giants without a new contract has.
Beckham is under contract for $1.8 million this season — he is the 44th-highest paid wide receiver in the league — and currently makes less than special teams specialist Dwayne Harris.
Beckham is scheduled to earn $8.4 million in 2018 before becoming an unrestricted free agent the following season. — additional reporting by Thomas Lipe