In late August of 2018, the Giants signed receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a contract extension. Within weeks, things got weird. Within months, the Giants traded Beckham to the Browns.
On Saturday, Beckham said he didn’t want to go.
“I never, ever wanted to leave the New York Giants,” Beckham said during the CBS coverage of the UEFA Champions League final, via Fox News.com. “The reason you heard me talking about what was going on was because I was pissed because, where I come from in college, if we lost one game, our season was over.”
He nevertheless said plenty about what was going on, as it was going on. In a surreal early October interview with Josina Anderson, then of ESPN, with Lil Wayne sitting alongside Beckham, the one-time dominant receiver was asked whether the Giants had an issue at quarterback, under Eli Manning.
“Uh, I don’t know,” Beckham said.
Asked at the time whether he’s happy in New York, Beckham said, “That’s a tough question.”
Even after Beckham was traded, he spoke openly about his unhappiness in New York.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Beckham told GQ regarding his mindset during his last year in New York. “I just can’t do it. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t in a good place. And like I told you earlier, I feel like everything is about happiness, and I just was not.”
He wasn’t happy. But he never, ever wanted to leave?
The reality is that he had it worse with the Browns, who eventually released him after the 2021 trade deadline. Beckhamthen landed with the Rams, where he played with a torn ACL until his knee gave out during Super Bowl LVI.
He then missed all of 2022, spent 2023 with the Ravens, and had a disappointing 2024 with the Dolphins, who cut him late in the year. He had no takers and still has been linked to no NFL team.
By all appearances, the 32-year-old Beckham likely won’t return to the NFL. All in all, his career was a success. He owns a Super Bowl ring. He had five 1,000-yard seasons.
But with 579 catches and 7,987 career receiving yards, a career that once seemed destined for Canton will likely be remembered primarily for one very memorable one-handed catch in 2014 and otherwise unfulfilled potential.
