Why the Cleveland Browns should wait before trading Odell Beckham Jr.

When the Cleveland Browns traded with the New York Giants for Odell Beckham Jr., some thought that it would be enough to launch the Browns into the upper echelon of Super Bowl contenders.

His first season on the roster, they fell extremely short of the lofty expectations that were set for him. However, after a year of getting adjusted to the new system and signing the coach of the year, the Browns got closer to the Super Bowl than they have in decades.

Sadly, this happened with Beckham Jr. being sidelined with an ACL injury. With the Browns having this success with him watching from the sidelines, it led some to believe that Cleveland may be better off without Beckham Jr.

However, although this is going to be his third season on the team, it is still too early to tell if OBJ is a good fit on the Browns roster.

On one hand, it appears that Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield may feel added pressure when Beckham is on the field. At times, he stares down OBJ and neglects other receivers. When Mayfield is not feeding the ball to OBJ, he is torn apart for “neglecting” Beckham Jr. This has led to things like #freeOdell trending on Twitter and being talked about on national sports shows.

On the other hand, it would be silly for the Browns to trade him before they get a true chance to see what he and Mayfield can do together in a full season.

Odell Beckham Jr. is arguably one of the most talented receivers in the entire NFL. Due to the Browns offensive scheme, his stats do not always back this up but they do show up in spurts.

One of those spurts being the game against the Dallas Cowboys. In this game, Beckham lit up the Cowboys defense for five receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Along with this, he ran twice for 73 yards and one touchdown.

Obviously, it is unrealistic to expect this type of performance from a player every game. However, if Beckham can finally turn back into his old self with the Browns, it will make their receiving core one of the best in the league and able to live up to the expectations set for them.

However, this should be a make-or-break season for OBJ with the Browns. He has a very large contract and a lot of Cleveland’s key players are due for big contract extensions. If he doesn’t have a big year this upcoming season and is unwilling to restructure his contract to keep the roster together, then it will be time for Cleveland to move on from Beckham.

However, the Browns should give him one more season to prove himself before moving on from him too early and possibly making a mistake they could regret for years to come.