One of the first thoughts that rattled around inside my limited brain after Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. went down with an injury that scared everyone (except fans of other teams in the NFC East) was this: That’s why Aaron Donald is holding out.
Picked one spot after Beckham in the first round of the 2014 draft, Donald has decided to take a stand now, even with two years left on his rookie deal. By leveraging a withholding of services into a second contract (if he gets one), the dominant defensive tackle will be shifting the injury risk to the Rams, via a signifiant signing bonus and/or large injury guarantees.
Beckham, who skipped voluntary offseason workouts but reported for training camp, carries the injury risk with a base salary of $1.8 million in 2017 and injury-guaranteed compensation of $8.4 million for 2018. And he saw that injury risk nearly become reality on Monday night.
Some will say Beckham should shut it down until he gets his contract. The rules of the labor deal, however, make it much easier for a player to never show up than to report and then leave.
Even though it’s too late for Beckham to hold out, he could choose to hold in. That’s a term agents use in reference to nagging injuries like hamstrings and headaches that keep a player from being available for practices or games. While Beckham may not be wired to do that (to his credit), mindsets can change after a guy’s football life goes flashing before his eyes.
From the team’s perspective, this could be the ideal time to offer Beckham the Antonio Brown contract, with a moderate bump. Beckham has said he’d like to be the highest-paid player in football, but he may feel differently when he’s staring at an offer far less than top of the league but far more than life changing.
One day after his career almost changed badly, now could be the time for the Giants and Beckham to come together on a reasonable and fair arrangement that protects him against the next time he takes a low hit during a game.
