Getty Images Odell Beckham Jr. talks with Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
Much was made of the division in the Cleveland Browns locker room following the release of Odell Beckham Jr. last season. Now, defenders Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Greg Newsome have some insight into how it played out.
Things got ugly in a hurry for the Browns and Beckham after he was not dealt at the trade deadline. The main catalyst in the situation was Odell Beckham Sr. posting a video on Instagram on the day of the trade deadline showing all the times Mayfield missed on throws to his son or didn’t see him open. He also went into the comment section of the Instagram post and further trashed Mayfield, even commenting on his contract situation.
The Browns and Beckham quickly agreed to a restructured deal and he was released November 8. On November 12, he signed with the Rams, where he went on to be a key contributor to their Super Bowl run. Back in Cleveland, many of his former teammates, including Owusu-Koramoah and Newsome, were cheering him on.
“Odell got to be one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Owusu-Koramoah said on the “Varsity House” podcast this week, a sentiment Newsome was quick to second.
Was the OBJ-Baker saga overblown? JOK and Greg Newsome give their thoughts on @varsityhousepod w/ hosts @ShaunCrawf20 & @Jones11_
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While it was all love for Beckham from last year’s rookie standouts, Newsome did add that Mayfield is also well-liked in the locker room.
“The crazy thing is Baker is a great teammate too,” Newsome, a cornerback, said. “I was hanging out with the offensive guys a little bit.”
Odell Beckham Responds to Clip on Twitter
Though they had plenty of praise for their veteran teammates, the duo did acknowledge that the tension between Beckham and Mayfield did weigh on the locker room.
“It was so much — that relationship, the whole entire thing was just off,” Newsome said. “And yes, it was distracting, but I knew at the end of the day I still had to do my job. At the end of the day, we play defense. We don’t have to worry about the guy throwing us the ball, we don’t got to worry about the guy catching the ball.”
Owusu-Koramoah, a linebacker, closed the clip by petitioning Beckham to send him some size-14 cleats, which got OBJ’s attention.
“They gone get understand one day!” Beckham tweeted in response on May 31. “Lol bruhhh my cleats was my size only I wish I coulda go ya right brudda [Owusu-Koramoah] and [Newsome] I still got plenty orange cleats left.”
@ShaunCrawf20 @j_owuu @gnewsii They gone get understand one day !!!! Lol bruhhh my cleats was my size only I wish I coulda go ya right brudda @j_owuu and @gnewsii I still got plenty orange cleats left
What the first part of that means isn’t exactly clear, but it doesn’t sound as though Owusu-Koramoah will be getting any cleats.