Getty Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. breaks a tackle against the Broncos.
The Cleveland Browns did what they could to quash the trade rumors surrounding Odell Beckham Jr., but the sentiment that star wide receiver wants out of town still remains.
FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported last week that Beckham was telling other teams to come get him from Cleveland. Beckham’s good friend and teammates Jarvis Landry refuted that report, saying that OBJ wants to be with the Browns.
“I think he wants to be here,” Landry told reporters. “I know he wants to be here.
“It’s not even about trying to go somewhere else,” Landry continued. “I think for him, he’s been a leader, he’s a guy that comes to work every day, he’s a guy that’s playing through injuries, all the things you want out of a player. Inside of this organization, he has a voice, he has responsibility to himself, to all of us, to go out there and compete each and every Sunday and he does that.”
NFL Insider Jay Glazer Doubles Down on Odell Beckham Report
Despite Landry and others shooting down the report, Glazer doubled down on his insight on Sunday before the Browns road game against Arizona.
“Come on. I’m not going to go against Jarvis Landry here, but look: Odell Beckham factually did go tell teams earlier this year ‘come get me.’ The bottom line is, he’s not happy there,” Glazer said. “They are not using him the right way. But, it’s not up to Odell Beckham whether or not he remains in Cleveland. It’s more so up to the Browns. The Browns need to find a way to use Odell Beckham’s talents better so he doesn’t want out of Cleveland.”
.@JayGlazer with the latest on if OBJ wants out of Cleveland, teams interested in Terrell Suggs and more:
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said Beckham is “probably” going to be a member of the Browns next year, but changes need to be made.
“He’s not planning on asking for a trade,” La Confora said on CBS. “He’s not going to request one. He has basically bit his lip all year, although he and many people in that building are frustrated about the lack of evolution from that offense and the passing game that really — unless they are throwing it to Jarvis Landry — is not good. It’s not working. Beckham is sitting back, along with some other players wondering what’s going to be different in 2020.”
Beckham has 59 catches for 844 yards and still has a chance to break 1,000 yards fifth time in his career. However, he’s coming off his third two-catch game of the season against the Bengals and has broken the 100-yard barrier on just two occasions this season. He’s only found the end zone twice this season.
On top of the trade talk, it was also revealed last week that Beckham has been dealing with serious injuries that have limited his practice time.
“I really don’t run until Friday. I come out here and do what I can,” Beckham told reporters after the Browns win on Sunday against the Bengals. “At this point it is what it is. There’s nothing to really do but finish out the season, try to be 1-0 and try to make the playoffs. It’s still all the same goals.”
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens said there are no plans to shut down Beckham and commended him for his weekly preparation.
“I think he is helping the team,” Kitchens said this week. “Odell is doing a great job of he wants to be out there for his teammates, and I like him to be out there for his teammates. He has been doing a good job of getting prepared during the course of the week to get to the game on Sunday.”
Odell Beckham Has Made Effort to be Strong Locker Room Presence
If Beckham’s mighty frustrations with his role in Cleveland are true, he’s done a good job of keeping them under wraps. Unlike his time in New York, Beckham has done little to feed his “diva” reputation, saying the right things and being a model teammate. This week, he gifted the entire team his signature Air Max 720.
“He always seems happy,” linebacker Joe Schobert told reporters this week. “Gifted the whole team shoes (Monday). It was pretty nice of him. From everything I see of him, all my interactions have all been positive.
“You can tell he cares about guys in the locker room. He’s talking to everybody in training camp. There’s guys that you don’t know if they’re going to make the team that he’s around and you’d think they’re best friends. That’s just the kind of guy he is, his personality, and (I’m) happy to have him around.”
LB Joe Schobert and C JC Tretter said Odell Beckham gifted the Browns players these shoes today. So there’s that.
“I get along with Odell really well,” center JC Tretter said. “I think we have a really good relationship. We joke around every day together.
“It always seems like he’s having a fun time and you know he’s lighthearted and you’re able to joke with him and make fun of him and he makes fun of you. He’s been a model citizen since getting here, so I haven’t seen any negative to it, and I feel like he gets along with a lot of guys really well.”
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