It was fun while it lasted. The day after making his on-field debut with the Cleveland Browns for the first session of organized team activities, superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was not present for Tuesday's practice, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
#Browns Odell Beckham not at OTAs today on the second day. This is the only one of the week open to the media
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) May 15, 2019
It bears stressing that Tuesday was the first and only OTA open to the media this week. Perhaps Beckham wanted to avoid scrutiny for having missed his new team's previous six weeks of voluntary offseason training? Either way, this latest no-show is sure to ruffle some feathers of Cleveland fans, not to mention NFL followers league-wide given Beckham's reputation, well-founded or not, of putting his own interest in front of his team's – even though OTAs are voluntary.
Beckham was traded to Cleveland in March in exchange for first and third-round picks in the NFL draft and promising third-year safety Jabrill Peppers. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman had previously tried to squash rumors that his team had any interest in trading the three-time Pro Bowler, telling reporters in late February that New York didn’t sign Beckham to a five-year, $95 million extension last August only to trade him less than a year later.
A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time Second-Team All-Pro, Beckham has made his fair share of headlines since being dealt to the Browns. Most recently, the 26-year-old received widespread criticism for telling GQ that he wanted to turn Cleveland into a dynasty like that of the New England Patriots, remarks he subsequently addressed but didn’t entirely walk back.
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