These days John Mara, the Giants co-owner seems to be happy. He is happy as the team landed the consensus best player in the draft in Saquon Barkley and is happy that the star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. attended the start of the team’s offseason program and its first minicamp.
Beckham wants to continue to be a Giant for a long time. He is set to play for the team for a new contract worth $8.5 million this season of the final year of his rookie deal. Mara said that he is hopeful that Beckham will play for the Giants for many years.
This was the first public comment made by Mara since the NFL meetings when the Giants stated that they are not trying to trade Beckham but did say that they would listen to other offers coming to them. This does not mean that the Giants are in a rush to confirm Beckham with a long-term future with the franchise.
He is still not clear for practice after he had fractured his ankle in a Week 5 October loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Mara said that he is not tensed about the contract negotiation being a distraction for the Giants.
Mara said, “I wouldn’t say a sense of urgency. The contract will get done when it’s supposed to get done.”
Beckham has been attending the Giants’ voluntary offseason workouts to date which has been well received by Pat Shurmur, the new coach of the team.
Notably, Beckham made it to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. He had over 90 catches, with about 1,300 yards and 10 or even more touchdowns in every year before the ankle injury ruined his 2017 season. Last year, the Giants averaged 13.6 points in the 13 games without Beckham in the lineup.
