Getty Head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.
New Cleveland Browns pass-rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo learned the hard way that he shouldn’t be complimenting rivals in the AFC North.
Shortly after Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Baltimore Ravens, Okoronkwo fired off a tweet.
“I hope the Ravens fumble Lamar cause him and Odell together is OD,” Okoronkwo tweeted after news of Beckham’s $15 million deal with the Ravens made headlines.
I hope the Ravens fumble Lamar cause him and Odell together is OD
Okoronkwo is referencing Lamar Jackson’s contract dispute with the Ravens and sounded genuinely worried about the former MVP getting to team up with Beckham if he does return to Baltimore. Okoronkwo’s tweet drew quite a response in the comment section.
“Bro you are in the same division now,” one fan responded. “You shouldn’t act scared like that at least not in public come on bro.”
Another wrote: “Well that’s not encouraging coming from our new DE.”
The response forced Okoronkwo to put out another tweet, telling everyone to calm down.
“Y’all take it easy, just think it’s cool that two generational players have the opportunity to play w each other, sue me,” Okoronkwo tweeted.
Okoronkwo Recruited Odell Beckham After Signing With Browns
Y’all take it easy, just think it’s cool that two generational players have the opportunity to play w each other, sue me 🤷🏾♂️
Okoronkwo is a big fan of Beckham and attempted to get OBJ to join him in Cleveland.
“Man come on back to Cleveland! They love you here!” Okoronkwo tweeted.
Okoronkwo has some history with Beckham, with the two previously being teammates on the Los Angeles Rams and winning a Super Bowl together. But it appears that the Browns also had some interest this offseason and at least explored the possibility of bringing back Beckham.
The Browns were one of 12 teams who attended Beckham’s private workout in Arizona in March.
Beckham’s first stay in Cleveland did not go well and came to an unceremonious end. After a blockbuster trade in 2019, Beckham managed just 114 catches for 1,586 yards in 29 games with the Browns. A very public beef with then-quarterback Baker Mayfield shortly after the trade deadline in 2021 led to his release.
However, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com said that the sides were on good terms and would have tried to make it work if the price was right.
“While some in the organization were initially furious that Beckham gave up on the team, most recognized that his beef was only with Mayfield, and that much of it wasn’t his fault. As time went on, time healed most of those wounds,” Cabot wrote.
However, that was all a moot point, considering the price that Beckham ended up signing for.
Browns Beef Up WR Corps With Elijah Moore, Marquise Goodwin
One of the Browns’ priorities for the offseason was to add a few more weapons around Deshaun Watson. They did just that by pulling off a trade with the New York Jets for promising, young pass-catcher Elijah Moore and also signing veteran Marquise Goodwin. The duo are expected to inject some significant speed into the Browns offense.
“Despite maybe how it’s looked at times, I love speed,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said. “We love speed, and there’s probably no general manager or head coach that says they want to be slow on the perimeter necessarily, but when you have an opportunity to add a good player who can really stress the defense with his ability to run, that’s an opportunity that we’re always going to look to take advantage of.”
Tight end Jordan Akins — a former teammate of Watson — was another interesting signing for the Browns. He’ll be another capable pass-catching option alongside David Njoku.