EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Odell Beckham Jr. practiced with the New York Giants on Tuesday. A relaxed Beckham fed the hungry media horde by speaking for the first time since the 2016 season ended.
Beckham didn’t deny that his contract might have had something to do with him skipping OTAs, but he didn’t confirm that, either, saying “You probably have to ask the people who do the contracts. I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”
Does he want a new deal now?
“I leave that in the hands of the man above. When that time comes that time comes. Right now is really not the time to discuss it. When it comes it’ll come.
“I just come here to do what I’ve always done, which is play football. The rest will take care of itself.”
Beckham did seem to indicate there haven’t been any discussions yet with the Giants.
“Any contract question is really not for me to discuss,” he said. “I haven’t really talked with anybody about contract, so it’s not something that’s been in the air.”
Here are some other takeaways from Beckham’s return to the Giants.
Beckham and defensive end Olivier Vernon, who both skipped voluntary OTAs, were in attendance on Tuesday. Owamagbe Odighizuwa was excused for personal reasons.
“It’s good to have Odell and OV back,” said coach Ben McAdoo. “I’m glad Odell is here. He looks like he’s in good condition. We’ll move on from there.”
Beckham practiced, albeit briefly. He took only a couple of reps during offense vs. defense portions of practice, and dropped a well-placed deep ball from Eli Manning with Janoris Jenkins in coverage.
Beckham’s Hair Is Going Gray
The most startling revelation of the day? Underneath all those colored locks, perhaps even in his beard, Beckham has a few flecks of prematurely gray hair.
“I got some gray hairs, so I’m starting to get up there,” said Beckham, wistfully stroking his beard.
Yikes!
About His Offseason Training
Much has been made of how Beckham trained this offseason. Where does he feel the work helped him improve?
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “Right now just taking it a day at a time trying to get better every day. That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing.”
Below, photos of some of Beckham’s offseason work. The New York Post offered more detail on that Tuesday morning.
Exclusive pics to me fr @OBJ_3 trainer Jamal Liggin of workouts. Told me OBJ trains up to 5x/wk s'times 2x/day w/him pic.twitter.com/hBRmkTs4ty
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) June 13, 2017
What Beckham Got From Working With Cris Carter
There was a stir when Beckham worked with Hall of Famer Cris Carter in Los Angeles rather than coming to OTAs. What did Beckham appreciate about Carter?
“Just a guy who’s been through a lot. He’s got a lot of life lessons to be able to share with you. He’s a Hall of Famer, he was a phenomenal player. One of the best,” Beckham said.
“Any time you can learn from a guy like that it’s great.”
Beckham Seemed Happy To Be Back
As I said earlier, Beckham seemed relaxed. He also seemed genuinely happy to be back around his teammates.
“It’s really great to be able to be out here, see guys like Evan (Engram) and Wayne (Gallman) and all these young guys who are coming in and just be back with your team.,” Beckham said. “That’s really what you do it for, those 53 men on the roster and whoever else is in this building. It’s a special bond.”
Reflections On Green Bay
Beckham was asked if he had thought about the way last season ended, with him struggling in the playoffs game against the Green Bay Packers, punching a hole in a wall and being criticized for the Miami boat trip.
“I reflected on it a lot. Lebron (James) losing a final. You’re going to look back on it and see what you could have done better, how you could have handled the situation better, whatever the case may be,” Beckham said. “It’s all a part of life, it’s a learning process. You’ve gotta take it, you’ve gotta learn from it and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Timing Wasn’t Right For Manning Passing Camp
Beckham did not attend the Eli Manning passing camp with other receivers, due to having had oral surgery.
“Teeth had to get pulled out and infection leads to other things in your body, breaks your body down,” Beckham said. “The timing of it all was unfortunate, but I’ve been working with Eli since I was a sophomore in high school so I don’t think a day of camp really is going to make all that much of a difference.”
Beckham, Mara Agree
Giants co-owner John Mara has been quoted as saying he would like Beckham to spend his entire career with the Giants. That sounds good to Beckham.
“I think we’re on the same page there,” Beckham said. “Obviously this is one of the best organizations in the league, and I would love to be here for the rest of my life.”