Giants’ WR Odell Beckham wants to get paid — now

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. wants to get paid. Now. Asked about his contract on Saturday, Beckham told NJ Advance Media’s Dan Duggan that “it’s that time just to get it over with.”

"Hopefully to get it done," Beckham said of his mindset about the contract while on the red carpet of the NFL Honors show "It's that time just to get it over with. I really want to do it so I can move past it. It's too much sitting around thinking, 'Where am I going to be at?' I need to know where I can start buying furniture for a house. I want to have a place set where I know, 'OK, this is home. I can always go back to home.' So it's just a little intermediate process right now. I'm sure it will get worked out."

Beckham is set to play 2018 on his fifth-year option, which would pay him $8.459 million.

Ed and Pat say — make him wait

Pat Traina recently told us that from a salary cap perspective signing Landon Collins to a long-term deal this offseason and making Beckham wait a year is the most sensible plan.

The Giants would be wise to wait on extending Beckham in 2018. The receiver, remember, is coming off a season-ending ankle injury. While early indications look extremely encouraging as far as him making a complete recovery, enthusiasm needs to be tapered because it wasn’t too long ago that the same optimism existed when Victor Cruz was attempting his comeback from a torn patellar.

Even though the injuries are different, Beckham, remember, had surgery for his injury. The chances of him passing a physical between now and say the beginning of April, which is usually when the bulk of the spending is done by teams, would be touch-and-go—he would likely have to be cleared to run and cut as opposed to just running straight ahead.

Even if he does pass a physical early, it’s probably not a stretch to assume the Giants medical staff will limit his participation during the spring OTAs as they eye a training camp return for the receiver.

That’s a stance that yours truly has agreed with. Here is what I wrote recently in a post looking at the Giants’ wide receiver situation:

Let him play out the year and prove that a) He can fit within what Shurmur says is “what it is that we’re looking for for a guy that plays for the New York Giants,” and b) He is still the same explosive player after last season’s injury, which I believe he will be. What I think the Giants will do: I will be surprised if the Giants give Beckham a mega-deal this offseason

John Mara says

Giants’ co-owner John Mara has said many times that he would like Beckham to spend his career with the Giants. At Pat Shurmur’s introductory press conference, Mara didn’t seem as though he was in a hurry to get a deal done with Beckham.

“We will deal with that at the appropriate time. That is not necessarily right now,” Mara said. “I’ve said before many times that we want him to be a Giant. We will get something done at some point. I first want Pat to sit down with him and for them to have a good understanding of how we are going to act going forward. I have a lot of confidence that it will work out well, but we’ll see.”

Beckham’s recovery

We have seen videos of Beckham working out, including various agility drills. In those brief clips you wouldn’t know that Beckham is less than four months removed from having fractured his ankle.

Beckham, though, told Duggan not to expect him to participate in OTAs this spring.

“There’s no point,” Beckham said. “Really to be ready for the first game is really all I’m worried about, so I can be 100 percent.”

He did, however, tell Duggan he is “doing really good.”

“I don’t know a percentage, but I’m actually doing really good,” Beckham said. “(Doctors) tell me to slow down because I’ve been out for so long and I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go. Now I can see where the mental part comes in as far as being patient and knowing you can’t push too much right now or you need to push more. Just kind of finding that balance, so I’m actually doing really good.”

Final thoughts

New general manager Dave Gettleman has a well-earned reputation for being all business when it comes to dealing with veteran players — Josh Norman, Steve Smith Sr., and DeAngelo Williams can vouch for that. Gettleman, though, is no dummy. Duggan also points out that while he was GM of the Carolina Panthers Gettleman signed quarterback Cam Newton, linebacker Luke Keuchly and defensive lineman Kawann Short to lucrative deals before the reached free agency. So, locking up young, core stars is as much a part of his history as is being unemotional when it comes to dealing with veterans.

Based on an estimated $178 million 2018 salary cap, Spotrac estimates that the Giants have $21.8 million in cap space. That is below the league average of $38.77 million.

Beckham is likely looking for a contract that bests the $17 million annually that Antonio Brown gets from the Pittsburgh Steelers. That would make him the game’s highest-paid receiver.

Can the Giants do that and still have money to fix the offensive line and upgrade the defense, particularly at linebacker? Should they do that? Should they make Beckham wait?

It is one of the critical decisions of Gettleman’s first offseason as Giants’ GM. We know what Beckham wants. That puts the ball squarely in the Giants’ court. Let’s see what they do with it.