Odell Beckham Jr. might be on a brand new team, but that doesn’t mean he has forgotten a previous squad and how they suddenly traded him this offseason.
The Cleveland Browns wide receiver told GQ Magazine that he felt disrespected by the deal.
The New York Giants traded Beckham to Cleveland back in March in exchange for a first-round pick, a third-round pick in this year’s draft and safety Jabrill Peppers.
“Like, after everything I’ve done for them,” Beckham said. “This is me being honest: This team has not been good for the last six years. Period. Even the year we went to the playoffs and everyone was talking about this and that. And we went there, and I didn’t have a great playoff game. Don’t get me wrong, I had a terrible game. But I left the game with seven targets, and I’m supposed to be your number one receiver. I left the game with seven targets. We lost. They scored 40 points. It’s just all bad. I felt disrespected, because I felt like I was a main reason at keeping that brand alive.”
He also addressed the first time he heard from Giants coach Pat Shurmur after the trade was a text message.
“But then to be called like that and then be texted by your coach and be like, “Oh, yeah, I heard the news.” Yeah, you heard the news? It happened because of you. The reason I’m gone is because of you. It was just tough because of the way I initially felt.”
“I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t do it,” Beckham added. “I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t in a good place.”
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Beckham said he felt the Giants soured on him soon after he signed a five-year, $90 million contract prior to the 2018 NFL season.
“I really felt like: Why did we even sign this contract?” he said. “What did we sign this for? That’s what I felt during the season. Why did we do this deal to not feel long-term, because I don’t feel like y’all are still wanting me to be here long-term during the season. I could feel it during the season. I would be up and down the sidelines saying that, like, ‘Why did you sign me?’ I could’ve just not did this at all.”
Beckham caught 390 passes for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns in his first 5 seasons with the Giants. The team could only muster one playoff appearance during that time.
