GIANT
TRADE FOR BROWNS FRANCHISE
In an
offseason free agency frenzy that has undoubtedly entertained supporters more
in the last 48 hours than the whole of Superbowl 53 it’s one of the leagues least
successful sides that has stolen the headlines. The Cleveland Browns sent
shockwaves around the sporting world last night as they announced they had completed
a trade with the New York Giants for one of the NFL’s most talented and entertaining
stars Wide-Receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
It’s an old sports cliché
but nothing can sum up the city of Cleveland more; ‘What a difference a year
makes’. In June 2018 Clevelanders were mourning yet another departure by their
adopted ‘King’ Lebron James who again fled the State of Ohio, this time to enter
LA Lakers’ long line of greats. In the football world their beloved Browns had
just come off the back of an embarrassing 0-16 season, one of only five winless
seasons in the sport since 1944. Whilst the Cavaliers continue to struggle
without their King the city has been uplifted by their football team. Browns
General Manager John Dorsey can take most the plaudits for the Dawg Pound’s ‘successful’
7-8-1 2018 campaign having selected Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick
and relieving Hue Jackson of his duties after eight weeks of the season, a move which sped up the process of the franchise for the remainder of the season. For
years the Cleveland Browns have been the whipping boys of the National Football
League. My personal favourite anecdote from the Browns ‘banter era’ was a Tweet
I caught a glimpse of during the infamous 0-16 season. It was revealed that the
stadium announcer had selected one of the grounds many empty seats for a prize.
Summed up simply by ‘This is the most Browns thing ever’.
The arrival of Baker Mayfield
& Nick Chubb out of college and Jarvis Landry from Miami however ignited a
spark on the Browns offense that had been non existent since perhaps the days
of the great Jim Brown. Although finishing the season with a losing record the
Browns showed clear signs of improvement with their seven victories and a few extremely
narrow defeats. The 2019 offseason was already looking bright for the Cleveland
side after recruiting running-back Kareem Hunt who despite his off the field
issues was one of the leagues stand out performers last season. The side also
bolstered their defensive line by securing a trade with the Giants that would
see them acquire the highly talented pass rusher Olivier Vernon in exchange for
offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler. Dorsey was not done yet however and the man
who may well have already merited a statue outside the FirstEnergy Stadium for
his recruiting expertise secured the deal of the decade. NFL Network’s Mike
Garafolo broke the news first. Cleveland have traded a 1st round
pick, 3rd round pick and the extremely versatile young safety Jabrill
Peppers to the New York Giants in exchange for one of the most electrifying
receivers the game has ever witnessed, Odell Beckham Jr.
Trade rumours lingered
around Beckham before the season kicked off yet looked as though they’d been
put to bed in August 2018 when the wide-receiver signed a new contract with the
Giants. A five year $95 million extension with $65 million guaranteed, the most
a wide-receiver has even been handed. As recent as two weeks ago at the NFL
Combine Giants GM Dave Gettleman eased the anxiety of Giants fans by declaring ‘We
didn’t sign Odell to trade him’. Although plagued by injury two seasons ago and
suffering a niggle or two last season Odell Beckham Jr boasts 44 touchdowns
since entering the league in 2014 (ranked 3rd highest) and also sits
3rd in receiving yards per game with just under 93. Cleveland’s offensive
options will keep defensive co-ordinators up all night with such a depth of
talent in both the rushing and receiving departments. Expect a lot of trick
plays, RPO’s etc. in and offense that epitomises the new brand of football the
NFL is quickly becoming accustomed to. For those of you who can remember Beckham
Jr threw two touchdown passes last season, the longest and second longest TD
passes the Giants had the entire season. The former laughing stock of the NFL
could be reminiscent of the Harlem Globe Trotters if their new Head Coach
Freddie Kitchens gets experimental. Beckham will be teaming up with former High
School and College teammate Jarvis Landry in Cleveland where the pair will learn
from their wide-receiver coach Adam Henry who also worked with them at LSU.
Whilst it
seemed like almost every player in the league had their say on the trade Odell
spoke with NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones about his switch from New York to
Cleveland shortly after the swap was confirmed. ‘Bittersweet’ was the key word
taken from Beckham’s discussion with Jones. In what he described as a ‘brief’
conversation with GM Gettleman on Tuesday night Beckham announced how the trade
was ‘bittersweet, but it is what it is. It’s life’ Odell touched on how excited
he was to be heading to Cleveland claiming ‘I’m extremely excited about the
opportunity to be part of this organization and the direction they are headed’.
The star receiver noted his appreciated at the opportunity the Giants gave him
in the league ‘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 concluded by expressing his optimism he has for the Browns and the
group of players Dorsey has pulled together ‘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’. Although a majority of the NFL world has
always looked on Odell as a bit of a reprobate who loves the limelight the new
member of the Browns seemed very humbled by the messages, media attention and
the realisation that his time in New York is over.
There is no doubt the
Browns will be a team to watch this season but as for the New York Giants they
look to be slipping down the pit of despair that Clevelanders have finally
climbed out of.
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