New York Giants: Odell Beckham silences critics by attending minicamp

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham silenced critics by attending the team’s mandatory minicamp and ending a holdout that never really started.

It turns out New York Giants wide receiver and current media target Odell Beckham Jr. isn’t actually holding out in an attempt to strong-arm the franchise into paying him a boatload of money before his rookie contract expires following the 2018 season. As he said he would, Beckham reported to the team’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday after he decided to skip out on voluntary workouts earlier this spring.

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As Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News explained, Beckham didn’t run through a large amount of reps, which is to be expected considering it’s not yet even the halfway point of June and he hasn’t been working out with teammates until this week.

Before anybody even thinks about voicing or typing hot takes about his physical conditioning following his offseason activities, know it appears the 24-year old is about where he should be in that department:

By merely putting Giants colors on, speaking with teammates such as new New York wide receiver Brandon Marshall and running a handful of routes, probably at half speed because these sessions are formalities that exist because of football traditions or whatever reasons, Beckham “son’ed” any and all critics who assumed they knew the score without actually hearing from the man himself.

Does Beckham want a new contract offered to him by the Giants before summer ends? Yeah, probably — and nobody can blame him. The fourth-year pro is set to make a fraction of his worth when you compare him to other elite receivers, and money currently guaranteed to him is a drop in the bucket next to what he will fetch via his second NFL deal. All things considered, Beckham remains one of the top steals in the league.

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The record should show Beckham still has not said he stayed away from voluntary workouts as some sort of protest over the amount of money he’s scheduled to earn from his current contract. Like other non-rookies who take the “voluntary” portion of those workouts to heart, Beckham thought it best to train away from the club for a period of time. New York defensive end Olivier Vernon made a similar decision, but local radio hosts didn’t open their programs bashing Vernon because he doesn’t move the needle or generate the clicks like Beckham.

Giants fans need to get used to the reality that some are just going to dislike Beckham. They’re going to mock his hairstyles and complain about his touchdown celebrations as if they negatively affect the Giants, and the sport, at all. They’re going to pounce the moment he has a bad outing, as he did during the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers last January, because four rough quarters somehow eliminate 101 catches, 1,367 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns from their memories.

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Perhaps the latest Beckham non-story is a testament of how boring the Giants’ “silly season” period of the NFL calendar went this time around. The club earned high praise from analysts and fans for its free-agency acquisitions. You may not have necessarily loved the franchise’s latest draft class, but Big Blue didn’t drop the ball this past April.

In a world where we have to have something to talk about because we do, Beckham is an easy subject because he is a massive superstar on and off the field. You’ll have to ignore the fact Beckham told reporters on Tuesday a holdout “was never in my mind” per WFAN’s Paul Dottino, as such comments don’t make for a sexy story and don’t portray him as the diva so many seemingly want him to be en route to flaming out of the NFL.

Beckham isn’t a perfect person or even a perfect receiver. He’d probably admit both to be true. He’s still evolving while working underneath the bright lights that come with featuring for a team located in the country’s biggest sports market. Perhaps the time will come, a month or even a year down the road, when Beckham holds out, for real, in an attempt to campaign for money he deserves.

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It isn’t happening now, and those who assumed it was will have to sit back and wait for the next opportunity to lash out at Beckham over something they don’t like about him.