Giants’ Beckham eyes comeback season
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Of all the words used by Odell Beckham Jr. during his news conference over the weekend, there is one that best tells the story of his presence:
“Calculated,” he said when was asked if he believed he was taking a risk by being out on the field. “You’re out there and you control your body. We’re practicing and these are your teammates, so we’re all working together. There’s no extra pushing and shoving and doing too much. It’s all calculated. I remember not being able to walk at all, so to be able to be back on the field doing what I love, it’s truly an amazing feeling.”
This was the plan for Beckham all along: to be here at Giants training camp with teammates and the new head coach (Pat Shurmur) who embraced him with respect and not a heavy hand from the moment they met.
Remind the Giants and everyone else of who he is and how this franchise would not be the same on the field — and truth be told, off of it — without him.
Any suggestion Beckham wanted to be elsewhere was essentially put to rest when the star wide receiver and 25-yearold celebrity phenomenon stretched his arms and smiled what he missed the most when he was not here.
“What did I miss the most? Really just, I love football. Football was always a vice for me, it was always how I could let everything out,” Beckham said.
Beckham spoke publicly for the first time since the ankle injury that ended his season abruptly nearly 10 months ago. He has been impressive on and off the field since training camp began, making an impact with just how good he looks between the lines and how comfortable he appears despite the glaring spotlight that comes with his desire for a new long-term contract.
There also appears to be no issue with his return from the ankle surgery and his ability to return at 100 percent.
“As I’ve been running routes, running around, I remember nights falling asleep downstairs (at his house) having to get up to my room and literally having to crawl up three flights of stairs to get to my room. So to be able to walk again, and to be able to the little things, you’re very appreciative of being back out there,” Beckham said.
Team brass has acknowledged negotiations are open with Beckham’s representatives, and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch have said they want him on their team for a long time. “We’ll talk as long as it takes,” Mara in a recent interview with radio station WFAN.
Beckham said he was optimistic a deal would get done but would not put a timetable on it.
Beckham is among the league’s best wide receivers, challenging Antonio Brown and Julio Jones for that honor when healthy. He played in four games last season before breaking his ankle, but that was a follow-up to the best three-year start for a receiver in NFL history: 288 catches for 4,122 yards (14.3 yards/reception) and 35 touchdowns.
He is currently set to play out the final year of his rookie contract, which will pay him $8.459 million. A new deal is expected to make him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL, likely north of Brown’s $17 million a year and the $55 million in guarantees the Buccaneers gave Mike Evans.
“Who doesn’t want to get more money? Everybody does,” Beckham said when asked if he still wanted to be the highest-paid player in the NFL. “You’ve got to be realistic ... let them figure it out. Whenever it happens, it’ll happen.”
Beckham deserves a new contract. The rest is all part of negotiation for both sides. How much, for how long and when are the unknowns. We can only predict and project, and perhaps the deadline of a season will bring about a resolution.
This is a different team without Beckham. It needs him, badly, if the Giants are to challenge for a division title and the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl. Beckham has seemingly done all the right things to prove himself to the Giants, and not just on the field but away from it with the way he has acted since the offseason program started.
“I think he’s ready to go. I think he’s ready to have a great season,” Mara said.