Terrell Owens Actually Had Good Advice For Odell Beckham

Terrell Owens would probably be the last person New York Giants fans would want giving advice to Odell Beckham Jr. Appearing on Adam Schefter’s ESPN podcast, though, Owens said he reached out to Beckham when the wide receiver was struggling early in 2016.

Owens, a great player who bounced from team to team — and most likely had his career end before it should have because of his propensity for finding controversy — actually had good advice for Beckham.

Below, the entirety of what Owens said to Schefter in regards to Beckham:

“I did talk to OBJ last year, early on when he was having some issues with the media, he was frustrated, whether it was with the media, it was coaching, again with the way he played. He was having some altercations with some of the defensive backs. Early on, he just wasn’t having a great year.

“The media started to heavily criticize him and really attack him and really speak negative about Odell Beckham Jr. I reached out to him on my own, he didn’t call me, but I saw what he was about to go through because I had gone through some of those same things.

“I basically told him the only way to quiet the critics, even if some of it is warranted, the only way to get them off your back is to go out there and play. Let your play do the talking for you. The thing is if you’re going out there performing poorly on top of what the media is saying you’re the target, you’re the topic every week, there’s always something coming out of New York about Odell Beckham Jr. The only way you can stop that, or minimize some of the criticism is you go out there and play. And ball out. And I think he took some of what I said to heart.

“I don’t take credit for anything because this guy was raised, I’m sure, the right way. He’s a God-fearing man, I understand he has parents that raised him the right way. In that aspect of it he’s taken care of, so now he just has to police himself, be the adult, be a professional, be the person, be the football player that he’s been blessed to be and let everything else take care of itself.”

I have written many times over the years that all Beckham has ever needed to do to quiet his critics is stop drawing attention to himself for silly reasons and let his play speak for itself. Interesting to hear Owens, especially after all the wackiness involved in his career, say the same thing.