Beckham’s here, but don’t expect a Giant about-face

Odell Beckham Jr. said Tuesday that he is trying to “grow and mature,” but it doesn’t appear he is going to change.

On Tuesday at Giants minicamp, Beckham was the same combination of committed yet controversial that he has been his whole career, including his pass-dropping, wall-punching flameout Jan. 8 in Green Bay. His presence at the mandatory camp was positive, but that development was dampened by Beckham’s conflicting responses on if his OTA absences were contract-related.

It all began Monday night, in fact, when Beckham posted several Instagram photos of a shirtless California offseason workout, wearing shorts with the phrase “F--- Em!”, and a caption that read, “Know your worth.”

Then on Tuesday afternoon, after a reflective Beckham explained his pursuit of growth and maturity – citing a book that Tom Brady champions, “The Four Agreements,” as a motivational guide – the Giants receiver bobbed and weaved enough on the contract question to keep it relevant.

Later Beckham’s friend, shoe artist Kickasso, even posted photos on social media of the cleats Beckham had worn to practice, and they reflected his continued frustration with his media coverage, belying the composed image Beckham had presented just hours before.

The cleats had the names of several newspapers and media outlets written in black, with either an X or the word “SHHHH!” covering them in red ink.

And so the Giants will continue to want more of Odell but also more from Odell. Meanwhile, Beckham may want more money from the Giants, but he is treading lightly if that’s the case. He did show up, after all.

Here’s how it went Tuesday. Try to keep up: Beckham first said he will leave his contract situation “in the hands of the man above.” Then when asked if he had skipped OTAs over his contract, he answered: “You’d probably have to ask the people who do the contracts and stuff. I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

Next he was asked pointedly if he wanted his deal reworked before the fall.

“I couldn’t really tell you,” he said. “Any contract questions (are) not really for me to discuss. I haven’t really talked with anybody about contracts so it’s something that’s been in the air, it kind of was the talk that was brought up among other people. It never was really in my discussions.” Then Beckham said of any link between his contract and OTA absence: “I don’t know if it had to do with me not being here or not, or what the case may be. I don’t really decide when I get a contract or how that even works to be honest. I really couldn’t tell you. I don’t have any experience (with) it.”

Beckham eventually answered “no” when asked directly again if he had been motivated by his contract to skip OTAs, but altogether his treatment of the subject felt off and deflective. It was tough to know where he stood.

“No, I was just out in L.A. training,” Beckham said. “I’ve seen the whole holdout and all that stuff, and I’ve never really seen it work, so that was never in my mind to, ‘I’m not gonna go to OTAs to get a new contract.’ I don’t think that really proves a point, in my opinion. So I was really just out there (in California) to really take that time for myself, reflect on life and value what’s important and to grow and mature. You should be growing each and every year, each and every day until you leave this Earth.”

It is unclear how this will play out. Beckham’s last answer seemed to dispel any notion that he would hold out from training camp this summer, for example, to force a new deal. His sentiment about John Mara’s recent comment that he wants Beckham to be a Giant for life also felt reassuring. “I think we’re on the same page there,” Beckham said. “I would love to be here for the rest of my life.”

On the other hand, Beckham continues to carry an awfully lofty opinion of himself that could backfire in contract discussions. He compared his need to bounce back from last season to “LeBron losing a Finals.” That would be comparing a three-time NBA champion to an NFL player with an 0-1 career playoff record.

“I’ve reflected on it a lot,” Beckham said. “It’s just like I feel like LeBron losing a Finals, you’re gonna look back on it and see what you could have done better, how you could have handled the situation better or whatever the case may be … But you’ve got to grow from it and you’ve got to learn.”

What is always strikingly encouraging about Beckham is how hard he works at getting better and being great.

Tuesday, he stressed that one of the “four basic principles” in his new favorite book stresses “to use your words wisely and don’t take anything personal ever.” So maybe that means he will be able to stop focusing on his critics and nemeses (i.e. Josh Norman) and simply let his talent do the talking.

But the Giants still have to have concerns, too. For while Beckham lamented it was “unfortunate” that he had missed Eli Manning’s passing camp at Duke in April to have his wisdom teeth removed — cracking that he’s “not really a dentist” — he rationalized that “I’ve been working with Eli since I was a sophomore in high school, so I don’t think a day of camp really is gonna make all that much of a difference.”

Maybe not, but Beckham dropped a perfectly-thrown Manning deep ball down the right sideline during Tuesday’s practice, and drops were a problem for him last season, as was his chemistry with Manning. And maybe Beckham isn’t holding the Giants’ feet to the fire on a new contract, but it’s hard to imagine ESPN’s hard reporting on the connection last week came out of thin air.

This issue isn’t going away, but Beckham did describe his overall approach to his contract as “patience.” And so maybe the Giants can hope for an uneventful training camp and a successful season and no more friction.

After all, on Tuesday, Beckham was here.