Odell Beckham Jr. during his first day with the Browns said something about his new quarterback, Baker Mayfield, he never, ever uttered about Eli Manning, now his former quarterback.
“I got somebody who is going to show me up dancing, so I got to get my moves back right,’’ Beckham said Monday.
This is all going to take some getting used to, Beckham transitioning from Giants’ blue-and-white to Cleveland’s orange-and-brown. Asked if getting traded by the Giants trade will add fuel to his fire, Beckham during his introductory media gathering in Berea, Ohio, did not respond other than to nod his head affirmatively and add, “That’s all I’m going to say.’’
Mayfield, who finished second in 2018 to Saquon Barkley for the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year award, sat alongside Beckham and could not hide his delight with calling him a teammate. The two became friendly through Sterling Shepard, the Giants receiver who played at Oklahoma with Mayfield. Now Mayfield gets to throw to Beckham on a daily basis, and not merely during offseason sessions when they two worked out together last year at USC.
“As you can imagine, pretty excited,’’ Mayfield said. “It was one of those things you can’t put into words to describe it correctly. I had two people at the house sitting there when I found out, I just started screaming.
“It’s the potential. It’s knowing exactly who he is and knowing what type of guy he is. He’s a team guy and he’s gonna be a great presence for us in this locker room.’’
The Browns went 1-31 the two seasons prior to Mayfield’s arrival and his landing in Cleveland triggered a turnaround. The Browns went 7-8-1 in 2018 and, with Beckham the latest marquee addition, are one of the NFL’s rising teams. Mayfield gets to target Beckham and Jarvis Landry, among others.
“They’re team-oriented, they want to win,’’ Mayfield said. “I’ll probably just close my eyes and throw it and hope one of ‘em catches it.’’
This is a dream come true for Beckham and Landry. Their friendship blossomed as high school prospects in Louisiana and they vowed to go to college together, which they did, at LSU. It was in Baton Rouge where the two wide receivers would sneak into the football facility to test each other’s prowess for making one-handed catches with high degrees of difficulty.
They speak nearly every day and often joked about one day again playing for the same team.
“I feel like we spoke this into existence almost,’’ Beckham said. “It’s like surreal. I tell people all the time, he made me who I am today. He’s taken me to a level of this greatness, this legendary stuff we talk about, it’s because of him. There’s no better place for me to be but here.’’
When he heard the news, Landry said “I just cried.’’ Landry’s NFL journey started in Miami with the Dolphins and now resides in Cleveland. Beckham landed with the Giants before they sent him packing.
“I know for me it’s something not only as a player but as a person, he’s somebody that my life needs,’’ Landry said. “It’s more than honor to take the field with him again.’’
The brightest lights in Cleveland might be mere twinkles in New York, but Beckham says he is not concerned.
“I don’t need to be in New York, I don’t need to be in LA,’’ he said. “I can be in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, it doesn’t matter where I’m at. I’ve created this, what I call a legacy. It never really crossed my mind, ‘Oh, going to Cleveland,’ worrying about marketing or any of that. I care about football, I care about winning. I didn’t step into this game to be famous. That’s just what fell into my lap.’’
Beckham said he’s already spoken with his idol, LeBron James, about acclimating to his new surroundings.
“He said ‘You’re gonna love Cleveland’ and I said ‘I can’t wait,’’’ Beckham said. “To see what he did to bring a championship here I just want to be able to do that same thing.’’
