Odell Beckham Jr. didn't show up to the Browns' voluntary minicamp this week, which led to a long complaint from ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi.
Grossi wrote an entire column titled, "Hey Odell: Where are you?" This open letter, asking why Beckham isn't at a voluntary workout is 830 words long. The letter is pretty condescending toward Beckham, and the receiver clearly didn't take kindly. But instead of bashing Grossi, he simply answered his question.
Training ! Thanks for your concerns! 😁
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 24, 2019
NFL NEWS: The strangest moments ever in NFL Draft history
Grossi actually responded to Beckham, although he didn't double down on his stance. Instead, he just responded with, "Ok. See you soon."
But Beckham's response is a solid answer, since training is what he'd be doing with the Browns anyways. But the training he's doing on his own is much more likely to be better for Cleveland as a whole moving forward anyways. Because this voluntary minicamp with Cleveland isn't exactly a big deal.
From Cleveland.com:
The minicamp, which is closed to the media, is the extra one afforded to new head coaches, and includes 11-on-11 drills with no pads or contact. Teams with returning head coaches can’t pit the offense vs. the defense until the final four weeks of the nine-week program.
Beckham showed up for the first day of the voluntary offseason program and his introductory press conference on April 1, but has been working out on his own ever since, which is typical for him.
No pads. No contact. No offense vs. defense. Oh, and also the camp is only three days long.
Is it really important that Beckham show up to this? It's not like he's skipping out on the camp to go partying. He's working out on his own, in his own environment. He even posted evidence of that fact on Instagram.
Even Beckham's coach, Freddie Kitchens, doesn't have a problem with the receiver's choice. In comments made on April 1, he acknowledged the wideout won't be part of some of the offseason activities. He was commenting on Beckham's choice to show up on the first day of the voluntary offseason program earlier in the month.
"Odell knows what’s at stake. He knows what he needs to be here for," Kitchens said. "This is strictly voluntary. If we wanted to critique people for not coming and coming, then we should make it mandatory as a league. Would I hold a grudge if he’s not going to come? No, I wouldn’t."
If Beckham did show up, then it'd be worth praising. He showed up for the activity when he didn't have to. Good for him. But he's not worth criticizing because he didn't. We're still a long way away from football beginning.
