Odell Beckham Jr.

While injuries are often unpredictable and random, New York Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has managed to pick up a few throughout the first few years of his illustrious career.

From a hamstring ailment in his rookie season to a broken ankle in 2017, the wideout must reach his true potential in 2019. Having only one season under 1,000 receiving yards is quite impressive, especially when you consider the fact that he’s only played a full season once in his professional career.

Will the Giants stick with their trusty steed at QB? And how does it affect OBJ?

The likelihood of Eli Manning remaining at quarterback for the Giants is good as we trek through the cold months of the offseason, and Beckham will likely be happy with that. Changing quarterbacks is exciting, but the chemistry and timing that Manning and the star receiver have developed will be whisked away with one simple change.

Now, it’s probable that the Giants draft a signal caller to learn behind their veteran leader for at least one season, and it will give him time to curate a relationship with Beckham, an essential part to the success of the offense.

But, Beckham must leave his injuries behind and ensure he puts his best foot forward in the years ahead. Odell stated that he didn’t feel 100% last season, mainly due to the mental stress of trusting the healed ankle and feeling comfortable going full-speed. Those concerns must be eliminated if he wishes to perform at the top of his game.

A potentially ELIte offense:

An offense consisting of Manning, Beckham, Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, and an improved offensive line SHOULD rank in the top 10 in the league. The offensive line portion of that statement is undeniably a significant factor, as Manning isn’t able to escape the pocket and make throws on the run as he once did. A lot of the deficiencies on the offense are directly linked to Manning’s body-guards, and ensuring the unit is allocated the proper resources is essential to the efficiency of the quarterback and his weapons.

Beckham will play better if Manning plays better, that’s a fact we can all agree on. Regardless of the O-line play, Beckham must overcome his fear of injury and play loose and calm. That will allow him to reach his full potential, but other factors surely play a part in his effectiveness on the football field.

2018 wasn’t the friendliest year to New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and it looks like 2019 could start off on a bad note too. According to TMZ, Beckham, as well as Drake and one other associate, are being sued for their role in an altercation at the Delilah nightclub in West Hollywood.

Bennett Sipes claims to have been attacked by Younes Bendjima, Kourtney Kardashian’s ex who was at the club with Beckham and Drake when the altercation happened. Sipes says that the attack has left him with “extreme mental anguish and physical pain,” and is now suing because of it.

However, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about Beckham just yet. There are multiple versions of the story, and it’s hard to tell at this point which one is the truth. When reporting on the initial incident last year, TMZ claimed that other sources supported Beckham’s group and claimed that Bennett was in the wrong.

Sources connected with the group say Sipes was the aggressor in the VIP area, and incited them as they left. They also say Drake and Odell had nothing to do with the fight.

That doesn’t change the fact, though, that this is undeniably bad press for Beckham and is another bad incident during a bad past few months. Beckham missed the last four games of the 2018 season because of a quad injury, and slightly under performed statistically, failing to get double-digit touchdowns for the second straight season.

This comes after Beckham signed a $95M contract in the 2018 offseason, which places larger expectations on him going forward. Giants fans can only hope that the lawsuit is resolved quickly, during the offseason, and not later on when it’s time for the regular season to become the focus.

Have you ever felt like you’ve experienced something before? Most fans of the New York Giants should have a bad case of deja vu right now, because it’s that one time of the year when the media is reporting on Odell Beckham Jr. trade rumors. It’s a process we all went through last year, when there were plenty of people who were sure that Beckham would be a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

To their credit, that move didn’t seem as unlikely at the time. The Rams had already made high profile moves, and while it would have been surprising, it hardly would have been shocking for the Rams to acquire Beckham as the last of those roster changes. But the move never happened, Beckham signed a new contract to play with the Giants long term, and a lot of reporters had to eat their words after pushing the rumors that a move was about to happen.

We’re going through the same thing again this season, even though it’s even more unlikely that Beckham leaves the Giants. Realistically, it’s hard to say that the New York Giants front office went into this season expecting very much. If one more bad season was all it would take for them to change their minds about Beckham and trade him away, potentially to the 49ers for the 2nd overall draft pick, why would they have signed him to a huge contract in the first place? Why not begin the rebuild earlier and trade him without signing him to a new contract?

That $95M contract makes it much harder to find a trade partner, too. If the Giants wanted to make a trade, they wouldn’t have agreed to it. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the value they get from a trade is better than the value that they would get from keeping Beckham, especially if the theoretical trade involves the Arizona Cardinals and the second overall pick. The Giants have already shown that they’re committed to rebuilding around Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. It just wouldn’t make sense for them to turn that around right now and make a trade in the buildup period to the draft.

We’ve already been through this, everyone. You might see more and more rumors about a trade in the coming weeks, but just remember: the speculation this year isn’t even as tense as it was last year during the offseason. Just because the rumors are being repeated again doesn’t mean that reporters know more about the Giants front office than they did at that point. And that’s why, going into the draft, there’s more important things to focus on.

The New York Giants will be going all out for a win against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but they may just have to do so for another game without one of their best players. The Odell Beckham Jr. injury has been one of the storylines of the second half of the season, and that injury could last through the end of the season and cause Beckham to miss the Dallas game in addition to every other game since the win against the Chicago Bears.

Beckham was a notable absence on Thursday’s practice, which isn’t a good sign for making a late season comeback to help the Giants out against their bitter rivals. Of course, it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet by Pat Shurmur. Shurmur had more optimistic words for the press, but those words don’t match up with Beckham sitting out of practice on Thursday.

“We’ll just have to see where they’re at. They’re feeling better than they did last week, we’ll just have to see,” Shurmur said, speaking of both Beckham and linebacker Alec Ogletree, who missed the most recent game while in concussion protocol. Ogletree also sat out practice and is unlikely to play in the game itself.

Beckham only has six touchdowns this season and barring a comeback for the last game, and a four touchdown performance, will finish without getting to double-digit touchdowns for the second straight year. You can’t put all the blame on Beckham, though. The offensive line has been shaky and, earlier in the season, was one of the worst in the league. With more pressure on Eli Manning, it’s been harder for Beckham to get the ball than it has been in past years.

Still, Beckham has 1,052 yards on the season, and Giants fans will be glad to see him back once he eventually recovers from his current quad injury. That, however, might not be until the season is already done.