SNAP OUT OF IT!

ODELL BECKHAM Jr. tweeted Saturday that he won’t play a single snap in the 2018 preseason.

But hours later, after the Daily News wrote a story about his tweet, Beckham appeared to clarify that the initial tweet was taken “a little too serious(ly).”

Friday night, a Giants fan named Stan Hardter (@stanbryan81) had tweeted and tagged Beckham: “Zero preseason snaps please.” And on Saturday morning, Beckham answered with a short but clear tweet:

“0,” Beckham replied from his @ OBJ_3 account at 8:16 a.m.

Beckham’s answer was newsworthy because it easily could have been the beginning of a holdout threat or public negotiating tactics as he seeks a long-term contract extension with the Giants.

There is also the matter of a player announcing when he will and will not play. Dictating such terms can’t be part of the new, more responsible direction that team president John Mara wanted to see from Beckham after his meetings with new GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur.

Beckham returned to Twitter at 12:51 p.m., though, to respond to any negative perception of his comment.

“People take things a little too serious sometimes… quick to write a story , but hey anything for a couple of likes in this world,” Beckham wrote. “Lol it’s so sad that’s the world we live in. Wonder if we’ll ever change!?” Beckham then sent out a second tweet that said: “Grow up. Please. I’m tryna do the same.”

In fairness, Beckham obviously has good reason to avoid the preseason. Last Aug. 21, he suffered a brutal high left ankle sprain on a dangerous low hit by Browns safety Briean Boddy-Calhoun in the second quarter of a Monday Night Football preseason game in Cleveland. The injury sidelined Beckham for the Giants’ season-opening loss in Dallas, and he eventually broke the same ankle in a Week 5 home loss to the L.A. Chargers.

Still, it’s unlikely Beckham and new head coach Shurmur already have discussed Beckham sitting out the preseason, mid-rehab for Beckham and mid-negotiation for the Giants and Beckham’s agent on a contract extension. Even if they did, presumably Shurmur would not want Beckham airing organizational plans for all to see.

And more importantly, if the Giants and Beckham’s agent don’t agree to a long-term extension this offseason, Beckham could hold out — and would be warranted in doing so — entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. So his statement that he won’t play in the preseason has to be considered a possible threat within that narrative, a line drawn in the sand of who dictates terms when it comes to OBJ’s career.

On top of all that, Mara stressed when Shurmur was hired that Beckham needed to speak with the new coach about “how we’re gonna act.” Their meeting went well by all accounts, but is publicly announcing playing time plans on Twitter within Shurmur’s new code of Giant ethics? I wouldn’t think so.

Anyway, buckle up. If Beckham doesn’t understand why such a tweet would create a firestorm, this offseason drama is only just getting started. AP