Look, I'm not here to live in denial or claim that anyone is wrong about anything. NFL rumors come up every single day and even more so when Odell Beckham Jr. is involved. That's just the way it is and things can change quickly. As a Browns fan, I really don't love to see it because, well, I want OBJ on the team I root for. As a sports writer, I can't ignore it becasue then I wouldn't be doing my job.
So let's take a look at the latest rumor, which popped up yesterday from NY sports talk radio host Marc Malusis, who works for WFAN. Malusis reported that the Browns and Vikings had discussed an OBJ trade that would send the star WR to Minnesota for a pair of draft picks. Of course, this sent social media into an all-out frenzy.
"I don't think they're trading Odell this offseason, I don't think that's happening. He's going to be a Cleveland Brown in 2020."
For us at Complex Sports, the timing of this rumor was quite something. Literally the day before we recorded a new episode of our Load Management podcast with ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, who many consider the top guy for this sort of stuff. Because I'm a Browns fan, I of course asked Adam about Odell's future with the team. The full interview drops next Tuesday and you can subscribe to the pod here, but here is Adam's full quote:
Yes, the interview took place before the rumor broke, but as you can see by Adam's comments, he was very definitive about it. And I'm not trying to discredit anyone and this report, but Adam is the premier authority on this kind of stuff, so I thought it was right to share ahead of the interview dropping. Adam also doubled down on it today via Twitter.
I also never claim to be a big sources guy, but I will say, from everyone I have talked to who cover the Browns and have a knowledge of how they do things, they don't think the team is trading Beckham.
Even more, a number of other NFL insiders, from Jay Glazer to Charles Robinson, have shot down the reports. On the other side of this, Collin Cowherd, who has occasionally broke some NFL news, says that the reports are real.
It basically comes down to who and what you want to believe. As a Browns fan, I've long said that I wouldn't be shocked if they traded Odell. There's a new front office in place, which means you never know what they're going to do. But all along they've said Odell is in their plans and part of the future of the Browns. All reports, minus one, also indicate this. I realize that there's no sports right now and we all need to talk about something, but please put the Odell photoshops away. Those won't be needed, at least not yet.
