Giants Beat Reporter Paul Dottino on OTAs
If you weren't getting paid to show up to your place of work, would you anyway? What if you had the option of working from home? Sounds pretty good, right? Of course it does. So, why, then is Odell Beckham, Jr. drawing so much criticism for not attending the Giants' voluntary OTAs? Even with a 2-time Super Bowl MVP on the roster, Beckham might be the Giants' best player. He's certainly the most dynamic, both on and off the field. There is no player in the NFL more dangerous or electric in the open field and the 4th year wide receiver has the looks and style that often land him on red carpets and covers of magazines.
Feeding the criticism Beckham is receiving this week is the deal he signed with Nike, the richest ever for an NFL player. He's never been to a Super Bowl, let alone won one, and heck, some would say he's never been to the playoffs the way he underperformed this past January in Green Bay. All that said, voluntary OTAs are window dressing in a lot of ways. The chemistry with Eli Manning is already well-established and while Beckham could choose to send the clear message that he's committed to this franchise, maybe his absence is sending a different message: that he'd like to see the Giants make a bigger investment in him than simply picking up a 5th year option on his contract with potentially two franchise tags waiting in the wings.