Getty Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield
It was no secret that when the Cleveland Browns traded for Odell Beckham Jr., the wide receiver was coming with a bit of baggage and a bright red target on the back of his No. 13 jersey.
While Beckham’s big play ability and crisp route-running had Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield jumping for joy, pundits around the NFL honed in on Beckham’s antics that came while he was frustrated in New York — everything from assaulting a kicking net to his spats with long-time Giants QB Eli Manning. Recently, ESPN’s “First Take” debated if OBJ would be a bigger problem for the Browns or other teams in the AFC North, framing Beckham as a locker room cancer.
Mayfield — who was overcome with emotion when he heard Beckham was coming to Cleveland — is having none of that talk and defended his wide receiver in an ESPN story by Mina Kimes.
“He’s here to work, and he wants to be surrounded by people who love him and support him and allow him to be himself,” Mayfield said. “He’s here to play in front of fans who actually care, who will actually show up to every game and pack the stadium and love him for who he is.”
Odell Beckham Escapes New York
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. tossed two TD passes with the Giants last season.
Beckham had a love-hate relationship with the fans in New York. While he established himself as a certified NFL star following his stellar rookie year (91 catches, 1305 yards, 12 TDs), the Giants only made the playoffs once during his five-year tenure with the team. That resulted in a 38-13 Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The relationship between Beckham and the Giants finally came to and when Browns general manager John Dorsey called looking to make a trade. The Browns sent a pair of draft picks with safety Jabrill Peppers to secure the star pass-catcher, reuniting him with his college teammate and best friend, Jarvis Landry, and giving Mayfield a dangerous new weapon to work with.
The funny part of it was that it came just a year after the Giants signed Beckham to the richest wide receiver deal in the NFL and general manager Dave Gettleman saying, “We didn’t sign him to trade him.”
Mayfield has quickly built a rapport with Beckham and is happy to have him on his side.
“Everybody can have their perceptions,” Mayfield said, “but who he is in the locker room and the bar and standard he sets goes much further than anything he does on the field for us.”
OBJ’s Fresh Start With the Cleveland Browns
@ClevelandBrowns TwitterOdell Beckham Jr.
Mayfield said he was sitting on the couch with some friends when he learned the Browns had acquired Beckham from the Giants.
“It was pretty hectic,” Mayfield said. “I remember hearing the rumors and stuff going back and forth. Then I got a text from [head coach Freddie Kitchens] and he said, ‘We just got a little bit better.'”
He joked that it was a classic Kitchens’ understatement to say the Browns were just getting a “little” better by adding Beckham — a three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who has averaged 92.8 yards per game in his career and has big-play potential every snap.
Following the trade, Fox Radio Host Colin Cowherd said his sources told him that Beckham was unhappy that he landed in Cleveland. Mayfield immediately shot back on those rumors, telling him to, “Come to Cleveland and ask O if he actually likes it.”
Beckham has also been very vocal that he’s happy in his new home.
“I just see the potential of this team,” Beckham said at minicamp. “ I feel something in the air, something special that Cleveland hasn’t had in awhile and I’m happy to be a part of that.”
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