Conflicting reports on a lingering trade deal for New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continue to infest the news cycle.
The football world is going back and forth on the possibility of a trade involving New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
At the end of the year in his “State of the Giants” press conference, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman noted, “we didn’t sign him to trade him.” He was talking about Beckham, who just signed a five-year, $95 million contract extension with Big Blue right before the 2018 regular season commenced.
Gettleman continued that ideology when he spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. However, conflicting reports on the issue are still coming out.
It was reported last week that the Giants actually laughed at a trade offer from the Cleveland Browns. This trade included the Giants getting guard Kevin Zeitler, who they actually received via the Olivier Vernon trade last Friday.
Then on Sunday, ESPN’s own Jordan Raanan reported that the Giants weren’t actively looking to trade their star wideout.
Addressed it on this week's podcast. The Giants aren't actively looking to trade Odell Beckham Jr. It was buzzing around Indy that the 49ers want him though. https://t.co/RYP3jWcwIs https://t.co/2bdOHBqtYN
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 10, 2019
When seeing this, it’s a sigh of relief for most Giants fans, including myself. Not many would like to see a generational talent like Beckham leave New York. Especially when the Giants could be getting their quarterback of the future in this year’s NFL draft.
Now, even more stories are coming out. Big Blue is reportedly still involved in talks to trade their veteran Pro Bowl receiver, per Jeff Howe of The Athletic.
The Giants are still involved in trade discussions with Odell Beckham Jr., according to a source. One of the league’s best wide receivers remains on the market.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 11, 2019
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller also spoke about it on his “Stick to Football” podcast last week.
“There is talk out there that Odell could be traded,” Miller said. “The Browns are probably a front-runner for that.”
The Browns most definitely would be a front-runner, according to Ben Axelrod of WKYC in Cleveland.
“The betting odds agree, with Bovada giving the Cleveland (+285) the second best odds of being Beckham’s team at the start of the 2019 season, trailing only the Giants (-190),” writes Axelrod. “In other words, while New York is favored to keep the 3-time Pro Bowl selection if the Giants do opt to trade him, the Browns — from a betting standpoint — are his most likely landing spot.”
I’m sure more reports on this subject will come out by the day. But for now, all we can do as Giants fans is sit and hope we don’t lose out on a superstar receiver. Beckham’s productivity on the field is still unmatched despite missing four games this past season and 11 games in 2017.
