There have been reports of both Cleveland Browns star wide receivers, Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry, expressing some level of discontent with their placement in the organization, both reportedly having referenced a desire to get out of the city by telling players on other teams to ‘come get me’.
Beckham was said to have done this in the days or weeks leading up to the trade deadline, which of course did not materialize. There was a subsequent report that multiple Browns players approached the bench of their most recent opponents and did the same thing, and that Landry was among them.
Both denied it, but then again, it’s hard to imagine them admitting that they said it. When asked about it, Beckham said, “it’s done, it’s old. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here. We’ll figure this thing out. It’s just too special to leave”.
OBJ: I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here. We’ll figure this thing out. It’s just too special to leave.” Asked him if that meant 2020: “Yeah, we’re going to be here. We’re going to do it again. And we’re going to be what we felt like we should’ve been.” pic.twitter.com/Aa8JTnyjPZ
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) December 18, 2019
“I head that Jarvis wanted to go to the Cardinals and all these people. It’s easy to talk about. It’s a copout I feel like. It’s an easy thing to do to cause a little controversy and a little friction. In my experiences in the league and going through the troubles that I did, I can now see how those stories…cause a little friction between you and a teammate who doesn’t necessarily know what you’re thinking”.
Beckham was a first-round draft pick of the New York Giants and set efficiency marks through the early portions of his career. At one point, he was averaging more yards per game as a receiver than anybody in NFL history. But he had a turbulent relationship with the city and its fans, and sometimes with the team, and while both sides denied interest, the organization traded him to Cleveland this year.
“Let’s just put it to bed: I’m gonna be here”, he added. There’s nothing more to talk about…yeah, we’re going to be here. We’re going to do it again. And we’re going to be what we felt like we should’ve been…it’s just too good. I didn’t buy a house here to sell it. I know people have said ‘I didn’t sign him to trade him’ before, but I didn’t really buy a house here to up and leave it and do renovations on a house and build a doghouse”.
So there you have it. Beckham plans to build a doghouse as a house he purchase with his millions upon millions of dollars in the Cleveland area, which is definitive proof that he fully intends to remain with the Browns for the long haul.
Unless the organization doesn’t do things the way he thinks they need to be done in order for him to be successful, of course. Which may include firing Freddie Kitchens.
