Odell Beckham Jr. is playing it smart with Giants
Odell Beckham Jr. has made some rash decisions during his NFL career, but his decision to show up to training camp is a smart move for his Giants career.
It would have been easy for Odell Beckham Jr. to throw a fit and skip training camp this season in an effort to get a new contract. Fortunately for he and the Giants, that’s not the path he’s chosen. Instead, the talented wide receiver intends to show up on time to training camp when it begins this Wednesday.
Getting into a battle of wills with the Giants front office would have been a poor decision. Dave Gettleman might not be working at his full capacity due to illness, but he’s still calling the shots. Gettleman isn’t the sort of general manager that responds well to threats.
Instead, he appreciates players who show up and do their jobs. That’s precisely what Beckham is trying to do. It doesn’t mean he isn’t desperate for a new contract, but it does show that he’s acting in good faith. That’s going to win him a lot of immediate goodwill in the front office. He and his representatives will hope that goodwill translates to big dollars once it’s time to negotiate a new contract.
Just confirmed that Odell Beckham Jr will report on time to #NYG training camp Wednesday. “He wants to play football, he wants to win,” source close to @OBJ_3 said. (OBJ told reporters at his camp in June that he would not hold out.)
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) July 23, 2018
The real question becomes when will be the right time to seriously consider a new deal. The Giants have every right to want to see Beckham perform on the training field before they make him one of the highest paid receivers in the game.
The Giants brass might not be satisfied with that though. Instead, it’s easy to envision Gettleman and Co. wanting to see Beckham compete in an actual preseason game to see exactly how far along he is in his recovery. The receiver might be wise to draw the line at that level of competition.
Playing against your own teammates in a relatively controlled environment isn’t risk-free, but it’s relatively close. Being exposed to competition against opponents who’d like to make a name for themselves by knocking you out of action is an entirely different animal. Beckham Jr. and his representatives shouldn’t let the Giants push him that far before they start to negotiate a new contract.
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The good news for Giants fans is that Beckham Jr. is doing everything he can to be a good teammate at the moment. It’s important the team doesn’t try to push him too far, though. If they want him to put his health in jeopardy before paying him big money, he has every right to remove himself from the situation.