Cleveland Browns: New coaching staff puts pressure on Odell Beckham, Jr.

Odell Beckham, Jr.’s status with the Cleveland Browns has been in question this offseason and now the new coaching staff puts pressure on him to show up more in the offseason

No Cleveland Browns player has garnered as much attention as Odell Beckham, Jr. has over the past year — which is saying something considering this roster includes Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett, and Kareem Hunt.

Beckham isn’t feuding with pundits, getting citations after already having one strike in the NFL, or swinging helmets but he still has been under quite the microscope ever since being traded to the Browns last March.

His social media use, and lack thereof, became an indication of his happiness to leave New York and head to Cleveland. Then there was the constant attention being drawn for things such as wearing an unapproved watch on the field, the wrong cleats, and a dark visor.

Even more of an issue was the report from Jay Glazer that he wanted out of Cleveland and was telling other teams “come get me” during games. But of course, this all started with the fact that he didn’t report to OTAs last year — something that seemed to irk the national media but didn’t bother head coach Freddie Kitchens.

That might not be the case with the new staff in Cleveland as Ian Rapoport recently spoke on OBJ’s status with the team on NFL Network. In Miami for Super Bowl 54, Rapoport said the new Cleveland coaching staff wants Beckham and has no plans to trade him, however, they do want him to be more of a presence in the offseason.

Many shrugged off the fact that OBJ missed OTAs saying he would be fine when the games started. While he did finish the season with more than 1,000-yards, he wasn’t nearly as effective as he has been in the past. And on top of that, his lack of rapport with Mayfield was easy to see.

Kevin Stefanski, who replaces Kitchens, knows that has to change in 2020. Beckham is an elite talent and can still dominate in this league but will need to be on the same page as his quarterback in order to do so.

Clearly they will be closer to having that connection due to an entire season together but the best quarterback-receiver duos in the game are always willing to put in that extra time.

Cleveland is now apparently putting the pressure on No. 13 to start doing just that.