Odell Beckham Jr. - Pro Football Rumors

NFC West Rumors: Seahawks, Cardinals, OBJ

March 27th, 2018 at 10:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks are now without stars Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Jimmy Graham, and Sheldon Richardson as well as up-and-coming wide receiver Paul Richardson, but GM John Schneider is insistent that the team is not in rebuilding mode.

“It’s just always very, very hard to make those decisions to move on from people, but that’s what we have to do in order to be a consistent championship-caliber football team,’’ Schneider said (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). “We don’t want to be having these major rebuilding years. We want to be able to have little re-sets, if you will.”

Last year, the Seahawks went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011. It certainly feels like there’s a changing of the guard in the NFC West thanks to the Rams, but Seattle will push to get back on top this year, despite the cap crunch.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

Cardinals’ head coach Steve Wilks said he expects doctors to clear running back David Johnson (wrist) in time to be ready for OTAs (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Johnson was arguably the league’s best offensive player in 2016 as he posted more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage and scored 20 total touchdowns.
The Cardinals don’t have any interest in Odell Beckham Jr., according to Mike Jurecki of 98.7 FM (on Twitter). As good as OBJ is, the Cardinals are wary of his contract situation. The wide receiver is slated to earn about $8.5MM in 2018, but he’s pushing for a new deal that would put him at the top of the market for his position. That may mean a salary of $17MM per year or more.

Latest On Giants, Odell Beckham Jr.

March 27th, 2018 at 10:37am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants aren’t shopping Odell Beckham Jr., but it doesn’t sound like they’re ruling out a trade either. When asked about the wide receiver at Tuesday’s owners’ meetings, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said, “He’s on our team right now,” (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).

Shurmur’s comments echo those of owner John Mara who recently said he is “tired of answering questions about” Beckham’s behavior and refused to say that “anybody is untouchable.” Meanwhile, OBJ is considering a holdout if he does not get a lucrative extension that will take him beyond the 2018 season.

Earlier this month, a video appeared to capture Beckham getting involved with drugs. His mood swings have also caused some headaches for the team in the past, though Shurmur’s new administration will try to help him stay focused on football.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Beckham can be had via trade, but it would be extremely costly for any team acquiring him. The Giants still seem set on winning in 2018 and they’ll need a big return in order to replace Beckham’s production. As it stands, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard are the next best wide receivers on the Giants’ depth chart.

Giants Aren’t Shopping Odell Beckham Jr.

March 26th, 2018 at 5:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Despite some rumors to the contrary, it sounds like Odell Beckham Jr. is staying put. The Giants are not shopping the wide receiver, according to a source who spoke with Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter).

On Monday, a report from the New York Daily News indicated that there have been trade talks between the Giants and the Rams regarding Beckham Jr.. However, the Giants know that they are better off with a healthy OBJ and a trade “probably won’t happen,” the source tells Jones.

The 25-year-old (26 in November) lost most of this past season to injury, but outside of that, he has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2016, OBJ had 101 catches for 1,367 yards and ten touchdowns en route to his third career Pro Bowl selection. Beckham Jr. is reportedly considering a holdout if he does get a contract extension, but the Giants plan on working things out with him in one fashion or another rather than trading him.

The Rams have already shaken things up on the defensive side by adding Ndamukong Suh, trading for cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and signing corner Sam Shields. They also completed one trade with the Giants already when they shipped linebacker Alec Ogletree out east. The Rams have Dave Gettleman’s number saved, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be pulling off a second deal to land one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers.

Odell Beckham Jr. Considering Holdout?

March 26th, 2018 at 8:24am CST by Dallas Robinson

Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. appears to be threatening a holdout, as he is reportedly unlikely to play in 2018 without a contract extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Beckham’s reported stance is being made public just one day after Giants owner John Mara said he is “tired of answering questions about” Beckham’s behavior and refused to say that “anybody is untouchable.” The 25-year-old superstar was involved in controversy earlier this month, as he was witnessed in a video which may have contained drug use.

While New York almost surely won’t release Beckham, Mara said a “possibility” exists that OBJ could play out his rookie deal without a new contract. Beckham, though, doesn’t appear amenable to such a scenario, especially given that he’s coming off a fractured ankle which limited him to just four games last season. Scheduled to earn roughly $8.5MM for the upcoming campaign, Beckham will likely target a top-end wide receiver deal with an annual salary approaching $17MM+.

The Giants could conceivably trade Beckham, although it’s unclear what kind of return they could expect. NFL executives suggested wildly different offers to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, with some decision-makers saying New York could reap two first-round picks, with others indicating the Marcus Peters package — a second-rounder and a fourth-rounder — is more likely.

During his first three seasons in the league, Beckham was one of the more productive young wideouts in NFL history. From 2014-16, Beckham totaled 288 receptions, 4,122 yards, and 35 touchdowns, figures which rank first, second, and fourth, respectively, among wide receivers in NFL history during the first three seasons of their respective careers.

Latest On Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

March 25th, 2018 at 4:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After witnessing star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. in a video which may have contained drug use, Giants owner John Mara doesn’t sound pleased with his club’s most high-profile player, and didn’t rule out the possibility of a Beckham trade.

“I can’t answer that one way or another,” Mara told reporters, including Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. “We’re certainly not shopping him if that’s what you’re asking. But again, when you’re coming off a season where you’re 3-13 and played as poorly as we played, I wouldn’t say that anybody is untouchable.

“You always listen to those things,” Mara said. “But that’s not a scenario that I would like to see happen. I’m tired of answering questions about Odell’s behavior and what the latest incident is. I think he knows what we expect of him. Now it’s up to him.”

While the Giants surely won’t release Beckham, Mara didn’t completely shut the door on the idea of dealing the 25-year-old, while Mara also said there is a “possibility” New York will allow OBJ to play out his rookie contract without an extension in 2018, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. Beckham will earn roughly $8.5MM during the upcoming season, while the 2019 franchise tag will likely cost ~$16-17MM.

Although the Giants seem frustrated by Beckham at the moment, his talent cannot be denied. From 2014-16, Beckham totaled 288 receptions, 4,122 yards, and 35 touchdowns, figures which rank first, second, and fourth, respectively, among wide receivers in NFL history during the first three seasons of their careers. In 2017, however, Beckham managed only four games before a fractured ankle ended his year.

Odell Beckham Jr. Involved In “Troubling” Video

March 11th, 2018 at 8:30am CST by Rory Parks

Star Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. is featured in a potentially disturbing video clip that was leaked on Friday while Beckham was on a Nike-sponsored trip in Europe, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. As Raanan writes, the clip is seven seconds long and shows Beckham in a bed holding what appears to be some sort of brown cigarette or cigar. The video also shows a woman next to Beckham holding a credit card, and there is a powdery white substance aligned in rows nearby.

Needless to say, this video has emerged at a very inopportune time for Beckham. After reportedly seeking a $100MM+ contract before the 2017 campaign got underway — and given how productive he had been in his first three years in the league, those ambitions did not seem unreasonable — Beckham managed to play just four games in 2017 due to a broken ankle, which cast his chances of landing a record-breaking extension into doubt. Nonetheless, he is still hoping for a lucrative long-term deal to come his way this offseason, as he is set to play out the 2018 season on his fifth-year option, which will pay him $8.5MM.

The Giants, of course, have a new GM and head coach, both of whom have indicated that they are in Beckham’s corner and want him to be with the club for the foreseeable future. Team ownership has never wavered in its desire to make Beckham a Giant for life, but Big Blue was surely hoping that Beckham had moved past his ankle injury as well as his past enigmatic behavior, and this video will not help matters.

ESPN has been unable to confirm where or when the video was filmed, but the NFL and the Giants are aware of its existence. Both the league and the team have declined to comment beyond that, and Beckham’s camp has not returned requests for comment.

East Notes: Wentz, Beckham, Patriots

February 4th, 2018 at 11:54am CST by Rory Parks

The Eagles are gearing up for Super Bowl LII tonight, but their prospects for next season got a nice boost this morning. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that, this Wednesday, Carson Wentz will begin weight-bearing exercises with his brace unlocked for the first time since being placed on injured reserve. That marks a big milestone in Wentz’s recovery, because when he is able to begin weight-bearing exercises, his recovery can proceed as if he had torn only his ACL instead of his ACL and LCL.

When it was revealed that Wentz tore both his ACL and LCL, concern as to whether he would be ready for next season’s opener increased, and it is still far from a given that he will be on the field for Week 1 of the 2018 campaign. But Dr. James Bradley, who performed Wentz’s surgery, said that barring a setback, Wentz should be ready to do some work in training camp and be ready to play in Week 1.

Now for more notes from the league’s east divisions:

Mercurial Giants wideout Odell Beckham, Jr. is under club control for one more season — the last year of his rookie deal — and it was not too long ago that he was looking for a new contract worth at least $100MM. But a season-ending ankle fracture in October has thrown a wrench into those plans, and we recently learned that team owner John Mara would not engage in contract talks with Beckham until he discussed the matter with new head coach Pat Shurmur. As Anthony Barstow of the New York Post writes, though, Shurmur is seemingly in Beckham’s corner, and Beckham himself is anxious to put the matter to bed. He said during last night’s NFL Honors show, “Hopefully we get it done, just to get it over with. I really want to do it so I can move past it. It’s too much to be sitting around, thinking where I’m going to be.”
We heard several days ago that the Patriots are likely to lose special teams coach Joe Judge and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia this offseason — Judge to another team and Scarnecchia to retirement — but Mike Reiss of ESPN.com does not believe either departure is a foregone conclusion. Given that New England will lose top coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, Reiss can envision a scenario in which owner Robert Kraft gives Judge a raise to convince him to stay and head coach Bill Belichick “leans on” Scarnecchia to come back for at least one more season.
This year’s QB market is uniquely loaded with talent, both in free agency and the draft, and if Jets GM Mike Maccagnan cannot find a permanent solution this offseason, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says he should be run out of town. The Jets will certainly be a competitor for Kirk Cousins‘ services, but a Cousins splurge would significantly hamper the team’s ability to improve the rest of its roster. Cimini believes Gang Green should pass on Cousins if the bidding gets out of hand, as he views the longtime Redskin as a complementary piece rather than a savior. Of course, what the Jets do vis-a-vis Cousins depends on how Maccagnan & Co. view the 2018 rookie class.
Speaking of Cousins, we heard this morning that the Redskins may put the franchise tag on him in the coming weeks with the hopes of trading him.

East Notes: Dolphins, Landry, ODB

January 26th, 2018 at 3:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Th Dolphins have not yet presented Jarvis Landry with another offer after his representation made a counter-offer in mid-December, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The wide receiver has already told people close to him that he doesn’t expect to return to Miami, but Jackson cautions that a lot can happen between now and mid-March. As it stands, there is a sizable gap between the two sides.

Here’s more from the AFC and NFC East:

Giants owner John Mara says that he will not engage in contract talks with Odell Beckham Jr. until he sits down to speak with new head coach Pat Shurmur. “We will deal with that at the appropriate time,” Mara said (via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com). “I’ve said before many times that he wants to be a Giant. We’ll get something done at some point. I want first Pat to sit down with him.” Shurmur says that a meeting is on the horizon, though Eli Manning is the only player he has met with as of this writing.
It might make sense for the Jets to trade a fourth-rounder or maybe even a third-rounder for Alex Smith while giving a rookie quarterback time to learn the ropes, Manish Mehta of the Daily News opines. However, he doesn’t think it makes sense to sacrifice a second-round choice for a 34-year-old with just one year left on his contract. The Jets are armed with more than $70MM in cap room, which could make them a player for Kirk Cousins and other top free agent QBs, but teams like the Browns and 49ers could top them with upwards of $100MM to work with. Trading for a veteran QB and grooming a young signal caller be the way to go if the Jets want to plan for the future while remaining competitive in ’18.
On Friday, the Jets hired ex-Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to be their new offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Giants Notes: Manning, Beckham, Apple, OL

December 29th, 2017 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dave Gettleman met with media for the first time as Giants GM on Friday, and he addressed the Eli Manning situation. Working under Ernie Accorsi when Manning was selected and staying on through the Giants’ second 21st-century Super Bowl title in 2011, Gettleman looked to show some faith Manning has quality football left. The new GM said he expects Manning to start in 2018.

“Eli’s won a lot of games,” Gettleman said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “A great competitor, very intelligent. He and I are gonna talk and if what I saw in Philadelphia was not a mirage — and I don’t believe it is — we’ll keep moving.”

Saddled with one of the league’s worst offensive lines and ground attacks, Manning has not enjoyed a good season. But he threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns against the NFC’s No. 1 seed earlier this month. Manning’s only other 300-plus-yard game this season came against the Eagles as well. Gettleman, however, said the Manning situation wouldn’t affect a possible first-round quarterback pick and added the “as of now” caveat to his Manning-in-2018 remarks, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv.

Here’s the latest out of New York on a busy day for the franchise.

John Mara has not wavered on his Odell Beckham Jr. stance. Although the co-owner said he’s unsure when an extension will be discussed for the rehabbing superstar, he remains committed to the wideout long-term. “Let’s face it, players with his ability don’t come along very often. So, yes, I want him to be a part of this team’s future,” Mara said, via Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (on Twitter). Gettleman, however, wasn’t as firm on a Beckham deal. Although, the new GM’s hesitance on an “obviously extremely talented kid” was largely based on a lack of interactions with Beckham, Vacchiano tweets. Beckham’s headed into his fifth-year option season.
Giants ownership wanted to wait until after the season when they could talk to other GM candidates, but after meeting with Gettleman, Mara and Co. decided to proceed in order to be ready to conduct a head-coaching search after Week 17’s conclusion, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Eli Apple‘s status with the Giants may be in the murky-at-best category after his disastrous sophomore NFL season. But Mara isn’t ready to throw in the towel on the cornerback yet. “You don’t want to quit on talent,” Mara said, via Jones (on Twitter). “I happen to like him personally. I’m obviously disturbed with what’s happened this year. … I think we have to figure out what’s going on with him. But I’d like for him to be a part of this team’s future.” The Giants suspended Apple for Week 17, and a source told ESPN’s Josina Anderson he would soon be done in New York. Apple is under contract through 2019, although this suspension makes that deal less binding.
Gettleman wasn’t vague about one area in need of repairs. The new Giants GM said the offensive lined needs to be fixed (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Big Blue’s boasted one of the NFL’s worst fronts for the past two years, and both Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg are in line to be free agents — and two of the best available. Ereck Flowers has not lived up to the billing as a top-10 pick, but his contract is guaranteed through 2018. Last year’s O-line draft class was not viewed as strong; this one has received higher marks early in the pre-draft process.
Accorsi could well seek Bill Belichick‘s counsel regarding a potential hire, but Garafolo reports (video link) he’s heard nothing to suggest the Patriots coach is playing a role in the Giants’ HC search thus far. A report earlier today indicated some buzz about Belichick advising Accorsi to get the Giants to hire Eagles DC Jim Schwartz.

Giants To Stick With Ben McAdoo For Now

November 13th, 2017 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like Ben McAdoo‘s job is safe. At least, until the end of the season. Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch released a statement on Monday afternoon that seems to indicate the team will not consider a coaching change until the year is through.

“Ben McAdoo is our head coach and has our support. We are in the midst of an extremely disappointing season. Our performance this year, particularly the past two weeks, is inexcusable and frustrating. While we appreciate that our fans are unhappy with what has occurred, nobody is more upset than we are.

Our plan is to do what we have always done, which is to not offer a running commentary on the season. It is our responsibility to determine the reasons for our poor performance and at the end of the year, we will evaluate the 2017 season in its entirety and make a determination on how we move forward.”

The Giants fell to 1-8 after allowing the Niners to capture their first win of the season on Sunday. One could argue that the Giants fell out of the playoff race when Odell Beckham Jr. suffered his season-ending injury, but the problems appear to run much deeper. Players have been insolent and some have even spoken out against McAdoo anonymously.

It would be a surprise if McAdoo returns as head coach in 2018, but it would be equally surprising to see him sacked in the middle of the season after today’s comments.