Diamond Images / Getty Images Odell Beckham Jr. was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March.
- Odell Beckham Jr. says the New York Giants trading him to the Cleveland Browns wasn't business. Instead, it was "personal."
- Beckham says he knows the Giants had better offers on the table, but "thought they'd send me [to the Browns] to die."
- The Browns have not had a winning season since 2007, but are favored to win the AFC North for the first time in franchise history.
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The New York Giants traded Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in a surprising offseason move, and now Beckham is calling his former team out, saying the trade was "personal."
In a story published by Sports Illustrated, Beckham told reporter Ben Baskin that he knew the Giants had better offers on the table, but instead elected to send him to the Browns out of spite.
"They thought they'd send me here to die," Beckham said.
It isn't the first time Beckham has spoken out against his former team. He previously told Complex that he felt like he wasn't going to reach his full potential with the Giants.
In March, Browns general manager John Dorsey inquired about Beckham, making Giants Dave Gettleman an offer. When Gettleman countered, Dorsey saw they had a chance.
Beckham was in Paris when he received the call that he was traded, recounting that it lasted seconds.
Prior to Week 3 of the 2018-19 NFL season, the Browns had won four games since 2015 and went winless in 2017. The team hasn't had a winning season since 2007.
Then Baker Mayfield arrived after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2018 to lead the Browns to a 7-8-1 year. Although not a winning season, the Browns suddenly have potential.
Beckham also said the Giants coaching staff tended to only look for him on third downs, running the same slants so frequently that the opposing defense would call it on the field.
They're "stuck in an older mindset," Beckham says, saying he's "just speaking facts."
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield also criticized the Giants in a profile published by GQ Magazine.
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters on Tuesday, "Quite frankly, on our list of issues of the day, it really doesn't matter what Odell or Baker say."
For Beckham, the upcoming season will be a chance to prove the Browns can live up to expectations as the team is favored to with the AFC North for the first time in franchise history.
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