Odell Beckham Jr. Claims Pat Shurmur Is Responsible for his Trade to Cleveland

Odell Beckham Jr. stated earlier today that Giant’s head coach Pat Shurmur is the main reason for his departure from New York. One of the best wide receivers in the last decade spoke openly about his time with the team from the Big Apple and revealed several very interesting facts.

OBJ was pretty straightforward in his interview. He pictured how he felt after hearing the news, and what went through his head. But what hurt him the most was the reaction of Giant’s head coach Shurmur.

“But then to be called like that and then be texted by your coach and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I heard the news.’ ” Odell began his story. “Yeah, you heard the news? It happened because of you. The reason I’m gone is because of you,” he said directly accusing Shurmur of his trade to the Cleveland Browns.

Odell Beckham Jr. takes shots at Giants’ Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur for how they “disrespected” him after trade to Browns in Q&A (photo: Paola Kudacki for GQ) https://t.co/4GNYq1I1kY pic.twitter.com/FM1AcPBz7X

— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) July 22, 2019

Several times during last year, these two collided. Beckham was often frustrated because of the calls and the overall situation which saw the Giants ending the campaign with 5 wins and 11 losses. For him, that wasn’t enough, and he wanted to compete at a higher level. Unfortunately, the franchise didn’t have enough quality despite adding the No.2 pick overall Saquon Barkley.

Beckham had 77 receptions for 1,052 yards and just 6 touchdowns. It is the second-fewest number in his career, but even when he had 3 in 2017 it was in 4 games, and last season, OBJ played 12 of them. After being a 3-time Pro Bowl selection, he was out in the past two cycles.

What also left a bad taste in his mouth was the way the organization treated him, especially when they sent him to Ohio. Beckham thinks that he himself was the biggest reason Giants stayed popular and in the center of attention even though they posted poor results.

“I felt disrespected, because I felt like I was a main reason at keeping that brand alive. They were getting prime-time games, still, as a 5-and-11 team. Why? Because people want to see the show. You want to see me play.”

Odell really is one of the most popular players in the NFL, no doubt about that, and he just might be right with this claim. We often saw situations in which media reported more about his moves, behavior, or incidents than about his team’s results. Anyway, in the end, the fantastic WR had to leave New York.

OBJ says the Giants were a bad team, but he kept them in the spotlight. pic.twitter.com/9lvsrdMBWR

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 22, 2019

Though OBJ felt hurt, the one person who is still highly regarded by him is the CEO and the president of the New York Giants, John Mara. The 26-year old had nothing but kind words for the co-owner of his former franchise, saying that all their talks came “from the place of love.”

“I’ll forever have respect for Mr. Mara. Everything he’s ever done for me, he’s shown nothing but love,” Beckham said.

On March 13 this year, he was traded to the Browns for Jabrill Peppers, Browns 17th overall pick (Dexter Lawrence), and the third-round pick, 95th overall, (Oshane Ximines). He reunited with his former college teammate and a long-time friend Jarvis Landry, forming one of the best-receiving cores in the entire NFL. Alongside Baker Mayfield, the No.1 pick from the 2018 draft, Cleveland immediately emerged as one of the contenders for winning the Super Bowl. If not in the upcoming campaign, then in some of the later ones. Not only that these guys have extraordinary talent, but they also have yet to enter their prime.

The Browns are playing their first preseason match on August 9 against the Redskins at home, and they open the regular part of the season against the Titans also at home on September 8.