BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. does not like to bring up the past with the New York Giants, not when he is focused on helping to reverse the fortunes of a team that has known nothing but struggles since returning to the National Football League in 1999.
However, Beckham Jr. will answer questions about his time with the Giants when asked and his thoughts on the trade to Cleveland, as he did with Sports Illustrated in an article released Tuesday, but the Browns believe the Pro Bowl wide receiver is fully committed to his new team and not worried about what happened in New York.
“When he came back, he was all in,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said after Tuesday’s practice in Berea. “Exactly what he promised me he would do, and I trust him. He trusts me. I won’t betray him. I don’t think he’ll betray me.”
Beckham Jr. was in and out of Berea throughout the offseason program, but largely out during the course of the 10 organized team activities practices at team headquarters during the spring. However, Beckham Jr. reported to mandatory minicamp in June and training camp last month on time and ready to play.
Whether it was catches in traffic or one-handed receptions down the field, Beckham Jr. has continued to show the kind of talent that made him a three-time Pro Bowl receiver with the Giants.
Over 59 regular-season games, including 56 starts, in five years with the Giants, Beckham Jr. turned 622 targets into 390 receptions for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns. Beckham Jr. averaged 92.8 yards per game, including a league-best 108.8 during the 2014 season.
Beckham Jr. has put four 1,000-yard and three double-digit touchdown seasons on his resume since being selected with a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Last season, Beckham Jr. turned in a 77-catch, 1,052-yard, six-touchdown effort for the Giants.
Along with the three Pro Bowl selections (2014-2016), Beckham Jr. was a two-time Second Team All-Pro honoree (2015-2016) during his five years with the Giants.
“A long time ago, I made a statement, ‘I want him physically and mentally ready to go,’” Kitchens said. “It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn the playbook. It was I wanted him all in when he came, and he’s all in. That’s all we need to worry about right now.
“It doesn’t matter what his state of mind was then. The guy was loved in New York. He spent six years in New York. That was home. Of course, it’s a shock. I know it’s a shock, so I guarantee if you ask him now, he’s not talking about that. Timestamp the article, the interview, whatever it was.”