He was relaxed and reflective and smiling that $95 million smile as he stood at his new locker, a short slant from Eli Manning, years removed from his infamous throw-down with Josh Norman that magnified the bull’s-eye on his back for all to see and for all to taunt and for all to incite.
So now here comes Jalen Ramsey, probably the best cornerback in the NFL and certainly the best trash-talker, undoubtedly eager to execute a game plan aimed at baiting Odell Beckham Jr. in front of the home-opener crowd at MetLife Stadium and therefore revealing his long-awaited grown-up persona as a mirage.
Beckham has done everything right since Dave Gettleman arrived to kick ass, and has bonded with Pat Shurmur and won the trust of John Mara and Steve Tisch.
If he lets Ramsey get in his head after all this, if he cannot control his emotions and turn the other cheek on a day when his emotions will be further fueled by his return to the game he loves after 11 months spent missing it while rehabbing that fractured ankle, then the entire franchise sags, and his legendary ambitions are stalled again.
So the message to Beckham, from every precinct of the organization to yours truly, is a simple one and a critical one:
Don’t take the cheese.