Giants GM ‘happy’ with return on Odell trade
Dave Gettleman said Tuesday, on the eve of the Giants’ flight to Cleveland for joint practices, that he is “happy” with his Odell Beckham Jr. trade return nearly two and a half years later.
Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, oft-injured edge Oshane Ximines and starting safety Jabrill Peppers are the players the Giants GM got back for the star wideout.
“I’m happy,” Gettleman said with a laugh. “Ya know? There’s Dexter. X-man’s had his injury issues but he’s out there showing promise. And Jabrill’s done a hell of a job for us.”
Beckham is returning to the Browns from a torn ACL last season. Giants co-owner John Mara said “I think it’s a trade that worked out for both sides.”
“Obviously the players we added did contribute,” Mara said. “I expect Odell to have a great season. I still have a great relationship with him. I’ve texted with him. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
Beckham has softened his rhetoric recently and has seemingly moved on, but his March 2019 trade to Cleveland unforgettably prompted the wide receiver to air his grievances with Gettleman and the organization.
Quotes like Gettleman’s “the New York Football Giants thank Odell Beckham Jr. for his contributions” in a team press release did not help Beckham’s feeling that the trade was personal.
“I felt disrespected,” Beckham told GQ in 2019. “This team has not been good for the last six years … I felt like I was a main reason [for] keeping that brand alive. They were prime-time games, still as a 5-11 team. Why? Because people want to see the show. You want to see me play.”
He told Sports Illustrated: “This wasn’t no business move. This was personal. They thought they’d send me here to die.”
Beckham said he felt “disrespected” the Giants weren’t man enough to sit down and tell him their plans to his face, specifically Gettleman.
“The G.M.,” Beckham said. “And I’ll forever have respect for [Giants president and CEO] Mr. Mara. Everything he’s ever done for me, he’s shown nothing but love. Even when we were having our talks, it was coming from a place of love. I could always feel it. So I’ll forever have respect for him.
“But then to be called like that and then be texted by your coach [Pat Shurmur] and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I heard the news.’ Yeah, you heard the news? It happened because of you. The reason I’m gone is because of you. It was just tough because of the way I initially felt.”
Browns QB Baker Mayfield also came to Beckham’s defense in 2019, telling ESPN: “He wants to be surrounded by people who love him and support him and allow him to be himself. He’s here to play in front of fans who actually care, who will actually show up to every game and pack the stadium and love him for who he is.”
On Tuesday, Gettleman reminded reporters earlier in his press conference — when asked about possibly making trades this summer to upgrade his roster: “Since I’ve been here, you guys have seen I’m not afraid to pull the trigger.”
He said of his receiver group in Beckham’s absence: “I like our group right now. I really do. It’s just a matter of getting everyone on the field and getting in a rhythm with Daniel. But I’m very happy with this group.”
The Giants had only six healthy receivers on the field at Tuesday’s practice: Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, David Sills, Alex Bachman, Damion Willis and Matt Cole.
Kenny Golladay (hamstring), Kadarius Toney (undisclosed) John Ross (hamstring) and Austin Mack (undisclosed) were all on the side.