By now, you should be aware of the drama surrounding star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and his now-former team, the Cleveland Browns.
On Friday, the Browns announced that they would be releasing Beckham, after less than three disappointing seasons with the Browns.
The reaction has been very split as far as who’s to blame for Beckham’s issues with Cleveland, as well as in the manner that he conducted himself in the days leading up to his release.
Twitter and social media have been abuzz with some defending Beckham’s actions, and others condemning him.
Bill Cowher’s Thoughts
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coaching legend and current NFL analyst for CBS Sports, Bill Cowher, also had some thoughts on the matter.
ICYMI: Bill Cowher on OBJ: “There's certain lines that I don't think you should allow anyone to cross bc no 1 person is bigger than the team. When you start to allow those things to happen, it just starts to creep into other elements of your organization.” https://t.co/Cj1mpkWhi3
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) November 6, 2021
In a recent interview he did with the Akron Beacon Journal, Cowher had this to say when asked if he thought the Browns should have made more of an effort to get him the ball.
“That’s a selfish viewpoint,” Cowher said. “You went to the playoffs [last season]. You’re a running football team. That’s who you are. Is it more important to Odell to catch eight balls than to win a game and catch one? I mean, I’d ask that question. Is it more important to you to catch eight balls in a game and lose or catch one ball to win?”
Cowher didn’t stop there however and he had some additional comments about Beckham’s lack of patience with Cleveland’s offense.
“You see if you can come to some kind of understanding and just ask him to be patient through the course of this,” Cowher said. “It’s never going to be perfect, but he’s got to be willing to listen. If people get hunkered down and they surround themselves with people that put things into their ears and they draw a line in the sand, at some point you move on.
Those are strong words coming from a man who’s had to deal with his fair share of superstars pass-catchers such as Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress.
Reaction From Inside the Brown’s Locker Room
It’s rapidly becoming public knowledge that Odell was one of the most beloved players in the Browns’ locker room.
He routinely went to great measures to make sure that he was friendly, cordial, and generous to his teammates, his coaches, and even to the rest of the Browns’ staff.
He seems to have left his mark, on his teammates especially.
Brotha,, I appreciate the little things that you have done for me that no one knows about, the words of encouragement u have given me, and the laughs/fun that we shared each day,, nothing but love and respect for u @obj
— Donovan Peoples-Jones (@dpeoplesjones) November 5, 2021
Thank you for your guidance and for taking me under your wing and helping me grow, will always appreciate you family🤞🏽 @obj
— Anthony Schwartz (@TheRealF1ash) November 5, 2021
While many Browns players expressed their desire to see Beckham welcomed back into the clubhouse, there’s at least one anonymous Browns player who didn’t share in their affections.
The anonymous source complained that Beckham had isolated himself from the team, and had left them in the dark about it.
The mixed reaction both inside the locker room and around the league is largely reminiscent of Beckham’s similar departure from the New York Giants.
At the end of the day, Beckham’s a guy who wants to win, but who also wants the ball.
It’s not bad for receivers to want the ball, but it becomes a problem if that desire gets placed above the good of the team.
There will presumably be quite a few suitors who will welcome Beckham with open arms once his release from the Browns is finalized.
Despite injuries and bad numbers with the Browns, he’s still a top-caliber wide receiver and there are many teams that could benefit from his talent.
Whether or not his locker room and on-the-field antics outweigh his potential productivity is the question that each of these teams will have to answer.
NEXT: Which Browns Players Will Benefit The Most From OBJ's Release?
One player does not make a team in the National Football League or ANY level of football. Too bad he wasn’t able to work things out with Cleveland .
Seriously I am a pats fan most of my life however I’m truly a brady fan.i value his work ethic and what he brings to the sport no I in team it’s bugging me he is the goat and yet is not paid like he should be all these others people drama queens make more money then he does they all need to be taken to church I’ve learned alot from bradys work ethic and what is important in life. I say grow up move out of the way for the real winners I’m a 72 year old woman and I’ve been involved in all sports my self this is truly pathetic from mchomes getting all that money to aaron Roger’s latest stunt to Beckham sounds to me he is worse than a diva and cancer in a locker oomph he needs belecheck to set him straight however I would never wish that on the pats.becham Roger’s cousins flaco.i could go on and on snap out of it have some class and deal with all your failures on your time nfl better do something brady gets 4 games for deflate game and Roger’s could have infected people with his selfish attitude get going Goodell and make the playing field even. And go brady I’m counting on you.
Brady is garbage and so are the pats! Brady is the biggest golden child drama queen!
Wow I don’t even like the Pats. I’m a Steelers fan in which to my frustration regularly beaten by the Pats. For you to start a sentence with Brady is trash is so erratically off base that any think you say after is suspect and has no weight.
hes on the bucs
OBJ has had his selfish issues with other teams too! There are many weapons in the Brown’s arsenal! Focus on one too much & it’s detrimental to the team!
I’m a die hard browns fan let him go we got to keep it moving with that said I hope the brother gets what he wants
Somewhere out there is a young man better than OBJ. Did not get into college. Working in market like Warner (RAMS).
First of all I’d like to say I’m a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, but here I am sticking up for the Cleveland Browns OBJ I would not want him on my team sounds like cancer to me and besides he has a contract and he needed to honor that contract no matter what now that is a standup man but what he did to the Browns is unforgivable we have one of those on our team well a few the last one last name was Brown and even though he was a great receiver for us he didn’t come ahead of the team we let them go and look what he’s done since quit on Oakland, he quit on New England and to tell you the truth I don’t know what he’s doing in Tampa and don’t care Cleveland you didn’t lose anything you’ve got good young receivers that are hungry and that you can grow on have a great year unless you’re playing the Steelers Ha Ha
Agreed
Yes and look how l’veon Bell’s selfishness serves him.
Agreed also L’veon Bell. How’d his selfishness serve him
Ask Cower’wife what she thinks of his opinions. Sure, forgot about all that by now.