All day we have been subjected to Odell Beckham Jr. trade rumors and stories about the Giants receiving offers. We are going to attempt to give you the definitive answer on what is going on with the Giants. Earlier today the Giants superbly talented, game-breaking, sometimes enigmatic receiver, announced that he will not be taking the field unless he has a new deal. Not unusual for a player of his caliber. OBJ has outperformed his current deal and is the Giants best player on either side of the ball. FACT. Unless the Giants are assured of acquiring a truckload of draft picks, including first-rounders, they are not trading OBJ. This is arguably the best receiver in the game. Players like OBJ don’t come along often. If you give him up you have to acquire a lot in return.
At the league meetings in Orlando this week, Giants co-owner John Mara, said the following to ESPN about his star player, when asked if OBJ could be on another team’s roster at the start of the season:
I can’t answer that one way or the other. We’re certainly not shopping him. Again, when you’re coming off a season when you’re 3-13 and played as poorly as we played, I wouldn’t say that anyone is untouchable.
The key sentence from Mara is, “we’re certainly not shopping him.” The Giants are not actively looking to move OBJ. Will they listen to offers? Sure. They’d be foolish not to. But again, if any potential deal does not involve at least two first-rounders, GM Dave Gettleman should be hanging up the phone.
The New York Daily News and other outlets are reporting that the Rams are interested among other teams. I don’t doubt the News or their reporting staff. The Rams like several other teams are interested, and they may even have made preliminary offers. But that does not mean the Giants are in active negotiations with the Rams or anyone else.
OBJ is a once in a generation caliber player. Does he have some maturity issues, and should the Giants be concerned over locking him up to a long-term deal? Yes. But that doesn’t mean they cut ties with him. If the team plans on keeping Eli Manning and working to build a playoff roster, they’ll need OBJ. Manning’s numbers without Beckham are pedestrian at best. He needs OBJ and the Giants offense needs him.
If we’ve learned anything from sports over the years, it’s that a talented player is rarely given up on in his prime unless there are severe off-field concerns. While OBJ has some maturing to do, he is nowhere close to being the kind of “problem” he’s often portrayed. My reasonable and educated guess is he gets a new deal and is a Giant for many years to come.
