So much for this Mike Francesa prediction.
During his WFAN radio show on Tuesday afternoon, Francesa told a caller there would be no way the Giants would trade Odell Beckham Jr.
“The worst thing the Giants did the last two years was giving Beckham that contract,” Francesa said in audio obtained by Funhouse. “That ended that because you can’t get rid of him. That ended that.
“Now you can’t do anything with him. That was the end of that.”
Of course, the Giants later that night agreed to trade Beckham to the Browns for a 2019 first-round draft pick (No. 17 overall), a 2019 third-round pick (95th overall) and safety Jabrill Peppers.
In Francesa’s defense, the conventional wisdom was that the Giants were stuck with Beckham. The controversial receiver was in the middle of a five-year, $90 million contract, making him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver. No one could have envisioned that Beckham would make it through just one year on the deal.
The Giants must eat $16 million in dead money on this year’s salary cap, so Beckham will be gone, but his financial tug will not be forgotten. As it turns out, the Giants paid Beckham $21.5 million in 2018 for 12 games.
Francesa went on his app after the deal and said the trade was a “step in the right direction” for the rebuilding Giants.
We’ll see how this prediction pans out.
