Regional Sports

Departure is long-time coming for Beckham

It didn’t matter what the Giants received in return for trading Odell Beckham Jr.

It didn’t matter why the Giants had to trade him.

It had to be done. There was a point of no return for Beckham. The Giants were going to stink with him, and they can stink without him next season. He knew it, too, which is why trading him made sense for everyone involved. The last thing the Giants need is a petulant child acting out of control in a season that is going to be a lost cause. It was pointless to keep him with the Giants basically rebuilding.

Beckham wasn’t the short-term and long-term answer for the Giants. There was no reason to waste his career on a team that is going to be bad. When his best days are behind him and the Giants become good eventually, he would be worthless. Plus having him on the roster would be a deterrent to the next Giants quarterback that could be drafted this year or next year.

He offered the Giants no choice but to trade him on Tuesday evening.

Yes, Beckham was a smashing success initially. Who can forget that one-hand catch he made against the Dallas Cowboys that created his brand? He made the Giants relevant with his highlight-reel performances. A case can be made he was why the Giants made the playoffs in the 2016 season.

But he became a problem child as he achieved personal success. He would dog it at pass patterns if he never had the ball go his way. He would go off on his quarterback and his head coach if he did not get his. He blamed everyone else but himself when things would go wrong with the Giants. He would offer his commentary when the Giants would lose. He would act out when he would struggle.

This diva wide receiver mentioned he was willing to change and he is ready to grow up. He talked about leading by example and being a positive influence. But it never happened. It wasn’t going to happen, and Giants CEO John Mara, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and Giants head coach Pat Shurmur were fooled once, and they weren’t going to be fooled twice. This is who he is at 26 years old.

Beckham sure wasn’t going to change with the Giants likely being awful next season. He had no reason to be, and the Giants didn’t want the migraine of coddling him in what is likely going to be an awful season.

Shurmur did all he could to empower his best player this past season. He gave him the responsibility to be the guy and be a leader. He built relationships with him, so that he can find a way to get his player play for him. He did all he could to find out what makes his wide receiver tick.

For Shurmur’s reward, Beckham was a pain in the posterior, especially when Giants running back Saquon Barkley became the featured player of his offense late in the season. This was when the Giants head coach figured he had his fill of Beckham, and this is why he was more than happy to move on.

Mara clearly had enough of Beckham’s nonsense, and it was his blessing that made the trade possible. Once the Giants petulant wide receiver called out Giants quarterback Eli Manning and complained his role on the offense on ESPN last season, it was the end for him.

To be blunt, Beckham’s time with the Giants was the beginning of the end after he had a horrible performance against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC Wild-Card game, which he finished with four catches for 28 yards and botched three of seven catchable throws in the Giants’ 38-13 loss to the Packers. Remember this came in the heels of him inexplicably going to South Beach on playoff week. There was no way he could have been ready to play in the game when he was having a good time over there.

If Beckham played great and the Giants won that game, the narrative about him would have been different. But perception is reality in sports. He struggled in big games, and that’s when the Giants knew he was not worth the drama.

It got old when the Giants were thumb-sucking Beckham just because of his talent. They enabled him knowing he would win games. They let him act out since he was making them money and winning games. They made him be bigger than the team.

The Giants should be commended for having the conviction to trade him. This was addition by subtraction in itself. Now, they can go back to being likeable and maybe winning games. They can go back to their roots of running the ball and utilizing the tight end in the passing game. Most importantly, they can be drama-free.

No, the Giants did not get multiple first-round picks from the Browns for this “generational talent”. They settled for Jabrill Peppers, the No. 17 overall pick in the first round and a third-round pick. No matter. The Giants could have received nothing in return for him, and this trade would be a success for them.

The bottom line was the Giants took a stand by trading Beckham. It was long overdue.

Tuesday was the best day the Giants had since they last won the Super Bowl.

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