Cleveland Browns: Odell Beckham Jr. drama wholly overblown

Odell Beckham Jr. is already causing a stir at Cleveland Browns OTAs, but any perceived drama is being blown out of proportion.

From the moment that the Cleveland Browns completed the trade for Odell Beckham Jr., the drama was inevitable. Not only have headlines always followed the superstar wide receiver around but he was now arriving on a team that was finally being thrust into the spotlight as a potential contender after years mired in the cellar of the league.

Thus, as the Browns began organized team activities (OTAs) this week, Beckham’s involvement or lack thereof was always going to be put in the spotlight. And sure enough, that’s the way things played out. The wide receiver showed up for the first day of OTAs and got everyone excited. However, he was then absent after that first day, leaving to continue his own workouts and conditioning away from the team.

Looking at some of the reactions to Beckham leaving after the first day of workouts in Berea, you would’ve thought that he outright quit football and left the Browns high and dry. That’s far from the reality of the situation, though. By every indication, this is what the team expected would happen, which head coach Freddie Kitchens and quarterback Baker Mayfield both made clear when asked about it, per Tony Grossi on ESPN.

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As noted by Kitchens, it would be great for a team’s new wide receiver to be at OTAs and build a rapport with Mayfield and the rest of his Cleveland teammates. At the same time, though, these are voluntary workouts and it’s a player’s right to not be there if he so chooses.

Moreover, it’s not as if Beckham’s conditioning or anything of the like has ever been called into question. When it comes time to play, he’s always been ready and working out away from the team has got him there.

Just for good measure, Beckham wasn’t done making headlines while the Browns started OTAs. On Friday, the wide receiver responded to a tongue-in-cheek segment from Colin Cowherd that essentially mocked OBJ’s career to this point, saying that he’s only memorable for one catch and then off-field antics. Put simply, he took the bait of a high-profile radio personality looking to get a rise out of people.

Having said that, everything happening around Browns OTAs regarding Beckham is being blown completely out of proportion. He stuck to a personal workout schedule that the team knew about and then sounded off on social media. Should the latter have happened? Maybe not, but it’s far from being problematic. Athletes routinely respond to critics on social media these days, but because it’s Odell Beckham Jr., people seem to hold him to an impossible standard.

Kitchens and Mayfield probably put it best as they responded to questions about Beckham, simply saying that he will be a great addition and will be ready to go when workouts are mandatory and even more ready when the season begins.

The drama was always going to follow OBJ to Cleveland because he’s an easy target at this point. All that will matter at the end of the day, though, is if he helps the Browns win football games. And given what he’s capable of on the field, the safe bet is that he’ll accomplish that come September.