CLEVELAND — Odell Beckham Jr. may be one of the newest members of the Cleveland Browns, but the All-Pro wide receiver is a quick study on history and understands the struggles the organization has been through in recent seasons.
And Beckham Jr. seems ready to get to work on giving the Browns fans what they deserve, starting with the 2019 regular season.
“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to be part of this organization and the direction they are headed,” Beckham said in a release announcing the trade from the New York Giants. “I’ve already witnessed the energy fans bring in that city having been to some playoff games at The Q. Browns fans deserve a winning football team.
“The Browns are an organization that is moving forward and it’s exciting to be a part of something special that is in the process of being built. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I really feel like it’s time for the Browns to come together, start winning a lot games and I’m grateful to be a part of that going forward.”
With Beckham Jr., the Browns get a receiver who can make plays in the short, intermediate and long passing games.
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.
A three-time Pro Bowler, 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 out of Louisiana State University.
Last season, Beckham Jr. turned into a 77-catch, 1,052-yard, six-touchdown effort for the Giants.
By coming to the Browns, Beckham Jr. will play alongside heralded quarterback Baker Mayfield and his former LSU teammate, Jarvis Landry.
“This is a fresh start for me, and it’s going to be great to join Baker and Jarvis on this team,” Beckham Jr. said. “I will always appreciate the opportunity the Giants granted me and I’m thankful to them, along with the fans and people in that city, for supporting me.”
Beckham Jr. did not come to Cleveland alone, as the Browns acquired versatile defender Olivier Vernon in a deal for guard Kevin Zeitler.
Over 103 games in seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Giants, the 6-foor-2, 270-pound Vernon registered 326 total tackles, including 232 solo stops and 94 assists, with 51.0 sacks, two passes defended and one interception.
Vernon registered at least 6.5 sacks in each of the last six seasons.
Vernon figures to transition back to defensive end after spending last season as an outside linebacker for the Giants, and will be a bookend pass rusher with standout third-year edge rusher Myles Garrett.
“I’m excited to be a part of the Dawg Pound, be able to represent and help build something special in Cleveland,” Vernon said in the release. “The front office is adding pieces to the puzzle. We are trying to win.
“I was not expecting (Beckham to come, too). Odell is a great teammate and person. We both have our own goals of what we would like to accomplish, and there is no better place to do that than Cleveland.”
