No room for Beckham’s nonsense under new regime
Giants co-owner John Mara, on the day Pat Shurmur was introduced as the 18th head coach in franchise history, reiterated his desire to have Odell Beckham Jr. part of the team for years to come. But, Mara cautioned, the new coach and the star wide receiver need to discuss what Shurmur and the Giants expect from Beckham.
“We’ll deal with that at the appropriate time,’’ Mara said Friday when asked about a contract extension for Beckham. “That’s not necessarily right now, I’ve said before, many times, we want him to be a Giant and we’ll get something done at some point in time.
“I want first for Pat to sit down with him and for them to have a good understanding about how we’re going to act going forward. I have a lot of confidence that’s going to work out well, but we’ll see.’’
The Giants picked up the fifth-year option on Beckham and will pay him $8.4 million this season. He has said in the past he wants to be the highest-paid receiver in the league. Beckham played in just four games this past season before going down with a fractured ankle that required surgery.
Shurmur said Beckham will have a “clean slate’’ as the new coach takes over. Shurmur was Eagles offensive coordinator when Beckham was coming out of LSU and said, “We loved everything about him.’’
But there is always more to Beckham than his receptions, yardage and touchdowns. As for Beckham’s much-publicized and oft-criticized antics, it does not seem as if Shurmur, 52, is going to tolerate much, or any, nonsense.
“I’ve watched him play and compete, and when you throw all the other stuff out and you watch him on the field, he’s outstanding,’’ Shurmur said. “So it makes sense to throw him the football. I’m just going to say that right away. If I didn’t acknowledge that, then you’ve definitely got the wrong guy up here.
“But I think what needs to happen now is I need to get to know him. I need to get to know what makes him tick — and I get to — I need to talk to him about what it is that we’re looking for for a guy that plays for the New York Giants. And I think those are the things that go back to relationship building that need to happen very, very soon.’’