Believe It! Browns complete trade for Odell Beckham, Jr.
The trade that couldn’t happen just did. The Cleveland Browns have shocked the NFL by successfully completing a trade for Odell Beckham Jr.
It was a trade that seemed impossible, but in the end, John Dorsey made an offer that the New York Giants decided they couldn’t refuse.
The Cleveland Browns pulled off a seemingly impossible trade. They acquired Odell Beckham, Jr. from the New York Giants in exchange for the team’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft, the 17th overall selection, as well as the second third-round pick the 95th overall pick and one the Browns received from New England in the Danny Shelton trade). The team also will send safety Jabril Peppers to the Giants.
Last Thursday night, Cleveland social media was on fire with speculation that the Browns were getting ready to trade for Odell Beckham, Jr. That speculation seemed to get squelched as the Giants and Browns conducted what looks now like a “minor” deal with the Browns acquiring Olivier Vernon and sending Kevin Zeitler to the Giants.
But that deal, and the announcement that the Browns had acquired Sheldon Richardson in free agency is dwarfed by this deal. In Beckham, the Browns are getting a proven number one wide receiver who caught 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns in just 12 games last season. In five NFL seasons, Beckham caught 390 passes for 5,476 yards.
It is unusual (make that shocking) for a player in the prime of his career to be traded, but the Giants have expressed displeasure at some of Beckham’s on-field behavior over the last few years.
Although the Giants repeatedly, and publicly said, they did not sign Beckham to a long-term contract in order to trade him, there were rumors that the front office, ownership, and even head coach Pat Shurmur were divided with General Manager Dave Gettleman being the lone advocate for holding on to Beckham.
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Beckham will be due $16.75 million this season. It remains to be seen whether the Browns will look to restructure the existing deal to be more cap friendly.