Things don’t sound like the new NFL season is starting off well for Odell Beckham Jr. Besides dealing with a nagging injury, reports are saying he is tired of teammates always making comments about him and he is frustrated with the players.
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After complaining to ESPN earlier in the week that ribbing from teammates about missing practice with a hamstring injury “bothers” him, Beckham blew off his only scheduled interview session with the media of the three-day camp.
While Eli Manning and Victor Cruz — two players with Super Bowl rings and a host of NFL accomplishments — spoke at length with reporters, teammates said Beckham bolted the facility to start his offseason as soon as he arrived in the locker room after practice.
Beckham prompted some raised eyebrows with the ESPN interview in which he described his growing irritation at gibes from teammates.
For me, this is what I love doing, and this is what I feel like my purpose was to do,” Beckham said. “So it takes a lot of strength for me to be able to come here every day and not practice, have to hear the little remarks, the little jokes, this and that.
“And it’s not just about a hamstring — it’s so many other things that people talk about,” Beckham added. “So it’s hard to come here and try and focus on ‘What play is up right now?’ instead of thinking about how bad you want to be out there.”
The grief isn’t just coming from other wide receivers, either, and stems from more than just the hamstring, Beckham added.
“[It’s coming from] everybody,” he told ESPN. “Because of the hamstring last year and then the fame, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re too big-time now,’ all that. So I mean, I just hear it and you want to blow it off, but after a while it gets old, and it kind of bothers you.”
If you ask receiver coach Sean Ryan however, it seems like OBJ is being wayyyyyyy too sensitive.
“Those guys get after each other every type of way possible,” Ryan said. “They make fun of each other about what they eat for breakfast. A comment gets made here or there, but it’s all done [in fun]. The atmosphere in that [receivers meeting] room is a good atmosphere, and they certainly have fun with each other. They’re a tight-knit group of guys, and that shows up. He can handle it.”
According to Ryan, Beckham has no room to complain when it comes to dishing out sarcasm.
“He gives it out as much as he takes it, let’s put it that way,” Ryan said.
