Fansided

Giants should lock up Odell Beckham Jr. before he gets pricier

By Chris Wurtz

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JULY 30: New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) during 2017 New York Giants Training Camp on July 30, 2017, at Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JULY 30: New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) during 2017 New York Giants Training Camp on July 30, 2017, at Quest Diagnostics Center in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The time is now for the New York Giants to make a move on Odell Beckham Jr. The ball is in their court, and they had better hurry.

After a troublesome start to the offseason, New York Giants superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. got his act together. Now, it looks like he’ll be rewarded for that.

Giants co-owner John Mara told reporters Wednesday that the team is ready to advance in contract discussions with Odell Beckham Jr. According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, Mara said that he felt that Beckham was moving in the right direction.

He’s right. Beckham has done everything that the Giants could have possibly asked from him over the last four months. He showed up to OTAs in May. He was in attendance for minicamp in June. And he arrived on time at Giants training camp Wednesday.

Beckham did all this while staying out of the media spotlight. We haven’t heard a word out of him regarding a potential holdout. It would have been very easy for Beckham to get into a standoff with the organization. After all, he is the best receiver from his draft class, yet the last to get a big-time paycheck. But instead, he’s been a model citizen.

Now it’s the Giants’ turn to make a move. Beckham doesn’t currently have much in the way of leverage. He hasn’t stepped on the field in game action since Oct. 8, when he fractured his ankle. If the Giants were to push this off any longer, they’d risk letting Beckham gain leverage.

Many have forgotten how good the LSU product can be — including his peers. That’s understandable, given that we haven’t seen him at full strength in nearly two years. But if he plays the 2018 season at his current $8.46 million salary, and re-stakes his claim as a top-two receiver in the league, the Giants could be in trouble. They’d be looking at a guy who wants to be the highest paid player in football — with a ton of leverage.

And according to fellow Giants receiver Sterling Shepard’s analysis, the odds of that sort of comeback season are pretty good.

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That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league. If the Giants are smart, they’d lock Beckham up for the long term as soon as possible.

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