This is just a damning claim.
It was pretty clear there a disconnection between the Giants organization and Odell Beckham Jr. long before the team signed him to a multi-year contract extension. Things only got worse when he went down with a mysterious leg injury no one could explain last season.
Beckham maintained his injury was more serious than the “bruised quad” the team listed as on the injury report. Either way, neither he or the team could agree on a timetable to return. He would go on to miss the final four games of the 2018 season and never made it back to practice with his teammates.
Boomer Esiason believes the entire thing was a cop out. The CBS Sports analyst believes Odell truly quit on the team by faking an injury after he got paid.
“Odell took himself off the field last year for four games after making $19 million,” Esiason told NJ Advance Media. “That takes a lot of chestnuts.”
Beckham’s desire to play hard was called into question when he stood by and watched an onside kick get recovered by the Chicago Bears that ultimately led to them tying the game and sending it into overtime.
“I don’t know what the issue was with Odell and why he didn’t want to play for the Giants anymore, because I do believe that was the case,” Esiason said. “But I know for Pat Shurmur and Dave Gettleman, dealing with that kind of corrosive personality toward them makes it very difficult to do their job.
“And that’s why they were trying to get rid of some of those guys in the locker room and bring some other guys in that were going to be more team-oriented and not so focused on their own numbers.”
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Esiason pointed out how all of Beckham’s teammates liked him, probably with the exception of Eli, who found himself on the end of subtle jabs by the star WR.
“If I could ever just show professional athletes how to act under adverse situations and anxiety situation, Eli would be the case in point. He has never changed from the day he got here to today until whenever his career ends. He’ll always be steady Eli, which may drive some people crazy,” Esiason said.
Beckham has since been traded to the Cleveland Browns and is looking to do big things for a franchise that is trending upwards.
