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Odell Beckham 'feeling dangerous' about trade that Giants owner gave 'reluctant approval'

Odell Beckham Jr. woke up from his social media slumber on Sunday.

As he did so, New York Giants co-owner John Mara gave a candid take on trading away the transcendent wide receiver to the Cleveland Browns.

Speaking at the NFL league meeting in Phoenix, Mara told reporters he was reluctant to deal Beckham and that when he told his grandchildren about the trade, they cried.

John Mara’s grandkids cried over Beckham deal

“Both of ’em sobbed uncontrollably on the phone,’’ Mara told reporters of his grandchildren. “One of them is speaking to me now, the other one is not so sure. I say that half-kiddingly, but it was not an easy decision.’’

He went on to detail his thought process when approving the deal orchestrated by general manager Dave Gettleman. He said that co-owner John Tisch was quicker to approve Gettleman’s proposal that returned a first- and third-round pick and safety Jabril Peppers from the Browns.

Giants co-owner John Mara does not sound like a man who was excited about dealing Odell Beckham. (AP)
Giants co-owner John Mara does not sound like a man who was excited about dealing Odell Beckham. (AP)

Mara gave ‘reluctant approval’ of deal

Mara needed more time.

“I will tell you it was a reluctant approval on my part, because I happen to like Odell very much, and I recognize the unique talent that he has,’’ Mara said. “It’s not easy to trade that player to another team.

“I understand also we have a lot of holes we need to fill, and if we make the right decisions with that first pick and with that third pick, we obviously like Jabrill Peppers a lot. Ultimately I gave my 50 percent share of the approval.’’

Tisch, though quicker to approve the deal, also acknowledged it was a hard choice to make.

"Not an easy decision at all,” Tisch said.

Beckham sounds ready to embrace new role

Meanwhile, Beckham appeared to be moving on from the digestive stage of the trade, making his first appearance on Twitter since going dark on social media last week to “process, reevaluate some of the things in my life, as much has changed for me recently.”

He appears to be fully embracing Browns culture on the other side of his hiatus.

That, of course, is an ode to Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who told reporters in November after his first three-touchdown NFL game to beat the Atlanta Falcons that “I woke up this morning feeling real dangerous.”

Odell Beckham sounds ready to embrace his new surroundings. (AP)
Odell Beckham sounds ready to embrace his new surroundings. (AP)

Hard to say goodbye

It’s easy to understand how being traded from the Giants to the Browns and watching dreams of making big plays in the biggest American city shift to a rust-belt city would be a shock to the system.

But from a football standpoint, there are few teams more compelling than the Browns in 2019, and Beckham appears to be embracing that. The prospect of moving from a dilapidated Eli Manning to a surging Mayfield at quarterback is worth getting excited about.

And the trade was out of his hands. So even if he pines for New York and has “mixed feelings” about the deal as Newsday reports, the healthy approach is to move on. And he appears to be doing so.

Seller’s remorse in New York?

The same might not be said about Mara, whose words Sunday point to a bout with seller’s remorse.

“It wasn’t like we were getting rid of a guy who was gonna be a criminal,” Mara said. “Yeah, he was somebody, there was always some extra issues he brought into the building every day. But it was never to the point where it was unmanageable.’’

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