If Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. publicly questioning the heart of his teammates didn’t cause real problems within the organization, Beckham’s new ESPN interview definitely will.
His sit-down with Josina Anderson, which for some reason had Lil Wayne to Beckham’s left, included Beckham openly expressing concerns about Beckham being outschemed.
As to whether the Giants have an issue at quarterback, Beckham said, “Uh, I don’t know.” Beckham also didn’t provide a quick and unconditional “yes” when asked if he’s happy in New York; Beckham said, “That’s a tough question.”
It’s a strange and bizarre development for a player who signed a new contract in August that included a $20 million signing bonus and $65 million in guarantees. If he wanted out (and apparently he does), Beckham could have done a lot of things other than take the team’s money.
He could have held out. He could have had his agent work behind the scenes to lobby for a trade. He could have made it clear that he’s determined to do whatever he has to do to get out of New York, including going year to year under the franchise tag until he’s traded.
There’s also a chance that this is part of Beckham’s strategy, with the goal of getting paid by the Giants and then forcing a trade elsewhere. If that’s his strategy, however, it’s not a good strategy.
Randy Moss (who knows a thing or two about creating distractions for a football team) criticized Beckham’s performance in the interview. Charles Woodson worked hard to find a way to support Beckham, ultimately settling on the notion that Beckham was simply providing honest answers to direct questions. (That’s never a good excuse for saying things publicly that should only be said privately.) Anderson, who surely hopes to preserve her access to Beckham, took issue with the criticism expressed by Moss, arguing that Beckham’s comments flow directly from a desire to win.
