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Odell Beckham Sends Message on Beef With Browns QB Baker Mayfield

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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.

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.”

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.

Beckham Remains a Free Agent Following Injury

Beckham, 29, has been clear that he has regrets about how things ended but has not talked about his relationship with Mayfield.

“One of the biggest regrets I have about the way things ended is I didn’t have … it’s like having a breakup but there really was no closure,” he told reporters in February before the Super Bowl. “It was just it. One of the things I’ve always been big on in my life is closure because if you don’t have closure, the doors – if they’re not closed – they are always still open. Having to leave and leave these guys you had lifetime friendships with – they’re your brothers, and it was just so abrupt.”

Early offseason whispers suggested that Beckham could return to Cleveland with Mayfield on his way out and Deshaun Watson behind center. However, that appears all but dead, with his good buddy Jarvis Landry signing with the Saints.

Beckham is an unrestricted free agent but is currently recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl — his second serious knee injury in as many seasons.

However, Beckham is expected to draw some interest after the revival he went through in Los Angeles, turning into a touchdown machine and proving he could still be a difference-maker on the field. Spotrac slates his market value at $13.1 million in 2022, which would put him at No. 18 among wide receivers.

Beckham recorded 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games with the Rams. He added 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four postseason games with L.A. before going down in the Super Bowl.

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