Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t at the Cleveland Browns’ voluntary minicamp this week, and he knows that you know that.
The recently traded star wideout responded to an open letter from ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, who asked, “Hey Odell: Where are you?”
“Training!” Beckham tweeted back, “Thanks for your concerns!”
He’s had a very busy couple of months, including recovery from ankle surgery, a trade from the Giants to the Browns, and taking thinly veiled shots at his old franchise on Twitter and in interviews. Despite getting out of the unique firestorm that’s playing in the New York market, the ex-Giants stud isn’t free of the media’s eye in his new home.
“You being away from the minicamp and the offseason program is a bad optic,” wrote Grossi, who has feuded with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. “You’re actually making the Giants and [GM Dave] Gettleman look good. They’re over there saying, ‘See? That’s why we traded him.'”
Beckham skipped part of the Giants’ OTAs in 2017 when he wanted a long-term deal. After fracturing his ankle early in the 2017 season and missing the rest of it, Beckham showed up at Giants’ OTAs in 2018 — while still recovering from the injury — and showed the new Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur regime enough to get a five-year, $95 million extension.
Despite the recent criticisms leveled at players for not attending voluntary workouts, Cleveland GM John Dorsey doesn’t seem too concerned about his new stud’s absence.
“I think he’s an experienced enough player that he will understand what he has to do to put himself in the best position and put this team in the best position,” Dorsey told media, via Cleveland.com.