Getty Odell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns.
The Odell Beckham Jr. trade rumors started to heat up again on Tuesday, but one NFL insider believes they’re nothing more than that — rumors.
Well-known WFAN radio host Mike Francesa started the talk, tweeting out: “I hear Browns, who are clueless, looking to trade Odell. They are asking a lot. I don’t often defend Beckham, but he isn’t the problem.”
I hear Browns, who are clueless, looking to trade Odell
Despite much speculation, former NFL scout and insider Benjamin Allbright shot down the report shortly after it went viral.
“Source tells me report of Browns actively shopping Odell Beckham Jr is false,” Allbright wrote on Twitter. “You’re welcome to believe the Browns are shopping a player at his lowest value point if you want (they’ve received calls), but they aren’t.”
Source tells me report of Browns actively shopping Odell Beckham Jr is false.
Odell Beckham Just Wants to ‘Win and Produce’
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns.
Beckham managed just three catches for 22 yards on a team-high 10 targets in the Browns 38-6 loss to the Ravens on Sunday. The yardage total was the second-lowest of his career.
Trade rumors have been a part of life in Cleveland for Beckham basically since he arrived, but he’s adamant he wants to help the long struggling franchise turn things around.
“I’m just here at a point in my life where I just want to play football, I just want to win, period,” Beckham said during a video conference with reporters. “There’s nothing else that can distract and deter me from those goals and I think once I get you all, the world, everyone to understand that I care about one thing, and that’s winning and producing, I think that you’ll be able to see some of the other actions and look at it from a different perspective than a perspective of a lot of the names and attachments that have been thrown off me in a way.”
Baker Mayfield on Odell Beckham Chemistry: It Needs to be Natural
Despite breaking the 1,000-yard barrier last season, Beckham did not live up to the wild expectations set for him, mostly because the injuries kept him from playing at his full potential. He finished his first season in Cleveland with 1,035 yards and four touchdowns, with his chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield being a big topic of discussion.
The duo have now played 17 games together and have had two offseasons to build some rapport with one another. But the chemistry issues between Mayfield and Beckham continue to be a problem for the entire offense.
“It has to come naturally,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, you game plan and you scheme up things to get the ball in your play makers’ hands, but when it comes to game time, they’re going to give us certain looks that might take that away. We had a couple plays for him early on, and the Ravens did a good job of taking that away so we had to go through the reads and get the ball into other guys’ hands.”
Beckham, Baker and the Browns will try again on Thursday in their home opener as they take on the Bengals.