A.J. Green Urges Giants Not to Be Stupid With Beckham

A.J. Green is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. So he knows what good ones tend to look like and he has a high opinion of Odell Beckham Jr.

That’s no surprise. Game recognizes game as the saying goes. Still, it’s interesting to hear what he might have to say regarding Beckham’s possible future. Most people have heard the news by now. It appears the receiver got himself in trouble again. So much in fact that the New York Giants are entertaining the possibility of trading him. Rumors persist they are seeking two 1st round picks and any team making such a deal would have to pay him upwards of $18 million a year in a new contract.

Certainly a hefty price to pay, but Beckham is the sort of superstar talent who might just be worth it. Already the Los Angeles Rams are heavily rumored to be in pursuit though finding the ammunition necessary could prove challenging. Green though isn’t so much perplexed by the price tag or anything like that. His shock comes from the idea that Beckham is available at all and said as much on NFL Network.

"“That’s stupid. That’s stupid, man,” Green told NFL Network at rapper Quavo’s celebrity flag football game in Lilburn, Georgia, on Sunday. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, or once-in-a-generation talent, man, and you’ve got to be ready. I think he’ll get paid. They not that crazy.”"

Giants would depart from history if they went through with trade

It would be a new era of Giants football if they made the decision to trade Beckham. After all, this is the same franchise that put up with the many issues of Lawrence Taylor way back in the 1980s and ’90s. It seemed to work out just fine back then. Is John Mara just not the same sort of patient man Wellington Mara was. Or could it be the greater media coverage of today is a lot tougher to handle than it was back in the easier days of just television and no internet or social media?

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The bottom line is the Giants would be giving up a proven star for a series of maybes with these draft picks. It comes down to how much they trust GM Dave Gettleman to make them pay off were that to happen. Gettleman is a much bigger proponent of bulking up the lines than he is of paying big for the skill positions. See his handling of Josh Norman in Carolina as a reminder. Still, Green is not wrong in this situation.