CLEVELAND — Odell Beckham Jr. remains a part of the Cleveland Browns' plans for the future.
And it appears the team has the pictures to prove it.
Next month, the Browns will unveil their long-awaited new set of uniforms, which will mark the team's first change in apparel since 2015. And while Cleveland's new threads won't be made public until April, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Browns have already done photoshoots for the reveal, with Beckham front and center.
"As the Cleveland Browns get set to unveil some new uniforms in April, they've done some of the shoots -- very confidential, hopefully for them, nothing leaks," Rapoport said on Tuesday. "Among the players very very involved in their uniform reveal is Odell Beckham Jr."
According to Rapoport, Beckham's involvement in the uniform reveal could be construed as further confirmation that he'll remain in Cleveland in 2020.
"If you wondered, 'Is this organization planning to have him for 2020?' the answer, very clearly, is yes," Rapoport said. "Because he is -- among other reasons -- going to model their uniforms. Throw all that into a big pile when you consider that Odell is also probably going to be more involved in the offseason programs and that he's been much healthier than he was last year. It sounds like he will be a Brown in 2020."
Acquired from the New York Giants in a blockbuster trade last offseason, Beckham's first season in Cleveland was hampered both by injuries that hindered his play and allegations he wanted off the team. Yet despite reports that the 3-time Pro Bowl receiver told opposing teams "come get me" -- as in, "come trade for me" -- last season, both Beckham and the Browns have asserted that he'll remain in Cleveland for the 2020 campaign.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Beckham Jr. said. in December.“It’s a cop-out, I feel like. It’s an easy thing to do, cause a little controversy, a little friction. In my experiences in the league and going through the troubles I did, I can now see how those stories…for me, it’s never going to affect me, but then, it’s like ‘Does it cause a little friction between you and a teammate who doesn’t necessarily know what it is you’re thinking?’ It’s just done. It’s just time to put it to bed. I’m going to be here.”
New Browns general manager Andrew Berry echoed the same sentiment at the NFL Scouting Combine last week.
"Odell is a very talented football player," Berry said. "We view him as a part of our future.
"[New head coach] Kevin [Stefanski] and I have both had really good conversations about our expectations for him and we expect him to adapt to those moving forward. So we're excited about the future with Odell and excited about what he's going to do this fall."