Let me begin by saying this: Odell Beckham Jr. has every right to not show up for voluntary workouts. The problem at this point isn’t his absence but his failure to provide any explanation for it.
Often, players stay away in order to exert leverage, with the goal of getting a new contract. Also, and as PFT has recently pointed out, if all players were to band together and boycott voluntary workouts, they’d quickly get a major concession from the league in order to make those mandatory-as-a-practical matter practices truly mandatory. The problem as it relates to Beckham’s decision to treat voluntary-in-name-only workouts as optional is that he has provided no information, directly or via leaks from his representatives to the media, as to the reason(s) for his absence.
Regardless of whether no player must be present, Beckham’s teammates are. As they do things they’d probably prefer not to do but feel like they should do in order to properly prepare for the coming season, it would be useful to at least know why one of their highest-profile teammates believes he doesn’t need to join them. (If any of them had access to Beckham’s reasoning and wanted to knock down the criticism of Beckham, those teammates would be the ones sharing with the public the reason(s) for Beckham’s absence.)
Instead, Beckham has built a mystery, opting to work out with people like Johnny Manziel and Cris Carter in the very same week that OTAs began. The obvious reaction to the timing is why wait until the very week when OTAs began to work out with Manziel and Carter?
Likewise, and as noted here on Friday, Beckham’s decision to engage in workouts and drills away from the team puts his 2017 salary and his fifth-year guaranteed-only-for-an-injury-happening-at-work option a risk. As a result, more than $10 million is riding on Beckham not suffering, for example, a Teddy Bridgewater-style catastrophic knee injury while not on Giants property.
And yet the silence from Beckham as to the reason(s) for his absence continues. Most recently, Beckham has added a twist of defiance and hinted at his mindset, retweeting via his Twitter page messages attacking those who have criticized Beckham for not showing up.
Consider these tweets from Roland Martin that were repeated by Beckham: (1) “If the workouts are VOLUNTARY, then he doesn’t have to show up"; (2) “I’m sick of folks acting like star athletes must always do what a coach asks"; and (3) “When training camp is mandatory, then show up.”
At a time when the Giants have made it clear that they expect Beckham to mature, it’s fair to ask whether Beckham is handling his business in a mature way. Yes, he has every right to stay away. But his stubborn silence has created a vacuum for hot takes, assorted speculation, and ultimately another distraction.
If Beckham were to simply announce his plans and, if he doesn’t plan to show up until the workouts become mandatory, some tangible reason other than “it’s voluntary,” the cottage industry arising from trying to figure out where he is and what he’s doing and why he’s not with the team and whether he’s going to join his teammates will grow. As will the questions for his coach and teammates who are left to explain that which Beckham, for whatever reason, won’t.