Browns’ Dalvin Tomlinson Defends Odell Beckham Jr.

Getty Odell Beckham Jr. when he played for Cleveland

There has been talk lately of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. returning to the Cleveland Browns. One person who would be happy to see him is new defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. In a radio interview on 92.3 The Fan, Tomlinson was asked about OBJ and he defended his former teammate and said the media gets it wrong about him. Tomlinson and OBJ played together at the New York Giants for two years in 2017 and 2018 before Beckham left for the Cleveland Browns.

Dalvin Tomlinson Said Reuniting With Odell Beckham Jr. Would ‘Be Dope’

On The Fan, host Dustin Fox brought up the rumor that OBJ might be talking to Cleveland. The Browns were one of 12 teams that attended Beckham’s private workout in Arizona earlier this month, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

“One player who is rumored to maybe be someone the Browns are interested in, he was also here, he was also in New York is Odell Beckham Jr. Any chance you guys reunite?” asked Fox.

“That would be dope, I would love to play with Odell again. Odell’s great people, I love that guy,” said Tomlinson.

He went on to say that Beckham is “super hard-working” and “super passionate about the game.”

“He’s one of those players who loves the game and he’s gonna compete — if it’s practice, a walk-through or anything … I would love if he came to Cleveland too,” said Tomlinson, who just signed a huge four-year deal with the Browns on March 15.

Dalvin Tomlinson Also Defended Odell Beckham Jr’s Public Persona

Fox went on to ask Tomlinson what his take is on the idea that it seems like the media and fans regard OBJ differently than his teammates do and Tomlinson defended his former teammate, saying that things get misinterpreted and the media paints Beckham the wrong way.

“I feel like one of the biggest things with that is I tell people you can’t see what happens in the locker room,” said Tomlinson. “On game day, on the sidelines, the cameras are there, you may see one thing and it may be interpreted the wrong way. But if you know certain people and you’ve been playing with them for a years or been with them for months at a time, you know they’re a different person and you know exactly what everything meant, like different actions people take and stuff like that.”

He added, “I got to know Odell pretty good and he’s just a huge competitor, he loves the game. The media can paint a lot of people wrong a lot of the time.”

Tomlinson isn’t the only player on the Browns who would love to see Beckham back in brown and orange. New signee edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo, who inked a three-year deal on March 15, has also been trying to convince OBJ to come back to the Dawg Pound.

“Man, come on back to Cleveland! They love you here!” wrote Okoronkwo on Twitter.

Furthermore, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot said in her recent mail bag column that the Browns “won’t hesitate to sign [Beckham]” if “the price is right.”

OBJ played for Cleveland in 2019, 2020 and part of 2021 before he was released and subsequently signed by the Los Angeles Rams. While with the Browns, he wasn’t exactly lighting up the field. With the Giants, he averaged almost 1300 yards and 10 touchdowns per season, not counting 2017 because he was sidelined with an injury for almost the entire season. With Cleveland, he only managed 1500 receiving yards total and seven touchdowns over two and a half seasons, which Beckham’s father thought was due to the fact that they weren’t getting Beckham the ball.

The Browns excused Beckham from several practices after his father shared a viral video that showed Beckham open and Mayfield not throwing to him. NFL.com’s Kevin Patra reported at the time that several players came to Beckham’s defense, saying they’d “love to have him” on the team still, but the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo cited an unnamed source who said OBJ was a “malcontent.”

“He does nothing, talks to no one. He’s just got a malcontent attitude,” Garafolo quoted his source as saying.