USAT: Giants Wire audio clip

USAT: Giants Wire

Feb 13, 2022

After being selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. went on to spend five years with the New York Giants. - Over the course of those five seasons, Beckham established himself as one of the most dynamic and athletic talents in football. He flashed Hall of Fame potential and Bo Jackson-like uniqueness. From a strict X’s and O’s standpoint, few were better. - But there was more to Beckham than just his football prowess. There was an overly-emotional young man behind those eyes, and that was often — but not always — misinterpreted. It also manifested itself in negative ways. - Everyone knows the various stories by now: the violent Josh Norman rivalry, the kicking net shenanigans, the dog pee incident, the Miami boat trip, the playoff collapse, the Lambeau Field wall punch, the bizarre ESPN interview with Lil Wayne and so on and so forth. - By the end of the 2018 season, the juice was no longer worth the squeeze for New York. They pulled the plug on Beckham, sending him to the Cleveland Browns as part of a large dual trade. - Since then, much has been made of the trade, who won and what Beckham’s true value to the team was. Fans themselves remain split all these years later — half the fan base believes the Giants were right to send OBJ packing, while the other half believe it was an all-time error. - Beckham, meanwhile, has waffled a bit in reflection over the years. At times, he speaks highly of the Giants and his experience there. Other times, not so much. - During the final media availability ahead of Super Bowl LVI, Beckham again took a moment to reflect on his Giants tenure. And this time around, he smiled and recalled the good. - “Those are some of the greatest years of my life,” Beckham said, via Giants.com. “To a place that gave me a home from the start and if there’s anything that I could look back on and wish different, it would be that I would be having this same opportunity with them, or not having the losing seasons and just being part of a winning culture and organization. Because I wanted that for New York just as bad as anybody. This, to me, feels like it’s for everybody in my career, just being exactly where I’m at now with the opportunity to win a Super Bowl. Just want to take full advantage of it.” - Beckham admits he’s not as close to the organization or those in it as he once was, but remains in regular contact with at least two of their players. And it’s not surprising who those players are. - “I talked to Shep (Sterling Shepard) and Saquon (Barkley) last night,” Beckham said. “Those are probably the only two that I know that are still there. I keep in close contact with them. Those are my brothers for a lifetime. You spend more time with these people than you get to with your own family at times. You build a lifetime brotherhood and friendship.” - Speaking of family, Beckham’s is about to expand. His girlfriend, Lauren Wood, is scheduled to give birth to their first child at any moment. So it’s entirely possible that over the next 24 to 48 hours, Beckham will be both a first-time Super Bowl champion and first-time father. - That’s not bad for a guy who once felt discarded and pondered early retirement as his Giants career fizzled. - Follow the Giants Wire Podcast: - Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Giants Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Giants Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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