BIG BLUE EYES ON ODELL
He’s at camp but no one knows future
ODELL Beckham Jr. arrived in the New York area Monday and intends to attend the Giants’ three-day mandatory minicamp that begins today, the Daily News has confirmed. Beckham will join the team despite not having the lucrative contract extension he desires.
Now the question is how much Beckham will do on the field this week, what the results were of his reported Monday physical at the Giants facility, if the lack of a contract affects his participation, and how soon this standoff will escalate if the organization continues to drag its feet.
Eli Manning, speaking Monday at the annual Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic at Mount Kisco Country Club, seemed to think Beckham’s practice workload would see a slight uptick, but that he would not participate fully.
“I think he’s supposed to maybe be allowed to do a few things this week, whether it’s just routes vs. air or certain things,” Manning said. But when Manning was asked about how excited he is to have his full complement of weapons on offense, he added: “That probably won’t come ‘til training camp.”
Beckham, whose rehab from October left ankle surgery seems near complete, has been working out in Los Angeles the last few weeks, skipping the final seven of the team’s 10 optional OTA practices after attending the first three the week of May 20. Beckham also had reported to some of the Giants’ optional offseason workouts in April, and his ankle looked strong when he did individual drills at the Giants’ first OTA on May 21.
But back in March, when the Daily News reported the Giants had discussed an OBJ trade with the L.A. Rams, NFL Network reported that Beckham would not step foot on a field without a new contract. And there will likely be a breaking point when that promise comes in to play, since he would be risking the type of serious injury that could threaten his ability to secure the new deal he wants.
Beckham sprained his left ankle last preseason in a game at Cleveland and then broke it in Week 5 against the Chargers. Yet head coach Pat Shurmur said at the team’s Town Hall at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan last week that “I intend to play our players in the preseason; I think it’s important,” so that should be an interesting conversation if Beckham doesn’t have a new contract in-hand.
The contract situations of top players in the 2014 NFL Draft class went in different directions Monday.
Zack Martin (16th overall) was finalizing a six-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys to become the highest-paid offensive guard in the league. But outside linebacker Khalil Mack (fifth overall), the 2016 defensive player of the year, reportedly intends to hold out of Oakland Raiders minicamp; and lineman Aaron Donald (13th), the 2017 defensive player of the year, reportedly is not expected to show at L.A. Rams minicamp.
While Beckham, the Giants’ pick that year at No. 12 overall, is stuck in the middle, forced to play nice due to some of his past transgressions and minimal leverage but potentially on the verge of digging in for a fight if the Giants don’t make the next move toward him.
Another star receiver, the Falcons’ Julio Jones (sixth overall pick in 2011), meanwhile, is not attending Atlanta’s minicamp as he angles for a renegotiated contract.
Beckham has not addressed the New York media here in New Jersey since Oct. 4, 2017, and he has done only one limited interview since on Feb. 3 at the Super Bowl. So if he does a podium interview today, it would be an understatement to say there is a lot to ask him. And Manning, who waited until two days before the 2015 season opener to get his last contract extension, said it’s a reality that, whether you like it or not, contracts can weigh heavily on a player’s shoulders when they linger.
“Unfortunately it can, and even though it wasn’t really something that was on my mind (that offseason), you just had to keep answering questions about it,” Manning said. “It’s not something I discussed with people, but for whatever reason it becomes an issue. And I didn’t harp on it. I didn’t worry about. But just the fact that it’s in the papers and you had to answer about it, it could become a hassle. Hopefully obviously everything with Odell ... it gets solved or it’s something that you don’t have to keep answering A about it.” ny practice Beckham missed so far was voluntary, but missing this week’s minicamp also would carry up to $80,000 in fines per the collective bargaining agreement. Manning said so far Beckham has been around enough to start learning the new offensive system, and Shurmur gave Beckham the capability to study the offense from his offseason home base in L.A., so now it’s about practicing new routes and getting timing down.
“(We’ve done) very little on the field work (together),” Manning said of his offseason with Beckham so far. “Just got in the meeting rooms, he’s been there for some of the walk-throughs and stuff. It’s important for him just to hear the plays, hear the formations, hear everything so he’ll have a great idea of what’s coming up.
“So I’m really just looking forward to him getting back healthy so we can get back on the field and start working,” Manning added.
“I think he’s supposed to maybe be allowed to do a few things this week, whether it’s just routes vs. air or certain things — a lot of the routes are very similar. There are a few that are a little different, that we can start working on those and start getting that timing down.”