The Cleveland Browns are 4-4 and star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is not happy. The former All-Pro has 17 catches for 232 yards, and zero touchdowns in six games.
Things are bad in Cleveland. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and OBJ are not on the same page and haven’t been since the 2020 season.
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, the superstar wide receiver’s father, Odell Beckham Sr., took to Instagram to share a video collage of the times his son was open and Mayfield couldn’t take advantage.
First, this was genius and hilarious. There was no bitterness or anger from Beckham Sr. This was just a father feeling sorry for his son.
The use of iconic rock band R.E.M.’s mournful ballad “Everybody Hurts” was perfect. The melancholy sound of frontman Michael Stipe’s voice, and the sorrowful guitar chords, juxtaposed with the footage of missed opportunities was brilliant.
Where does the OBJ/Mayfield relationship go after this? Those two can’t be on good terms, right?
Of course this is bad for the team. Any incidents or issues that are going on internally should remain that way. It doesn’t help the team for the star wide receiver’s father to put out a video that undermines the team’s quarterback.
But if we’re keeping it 100, where’s the lie in that video posted by Beckham Sr.?
Baker Mayfield Needs To Shut Up And Let His Wing Do The Talking
Mayfield is not a good quarterback. The number one pick in the 2018 draft has underwhelmed thus far in his pro career.
He is 26-25 as a starter and the third best quarterback in his division. He ranks 26th in QBR with 43.0 and has only six touchdown passes.
ESPN’s Bomani Jones called Mayfield “pedestrian” as a quarterback on Twitter.
hard truth is baker mayfield, no. 1 overall pick in a draft that produced two legit star-level qb's, is pedestrian. i'm impressed and confused by browns fans' patience with that.
but he's better than darnold and rosen, tho. https://t.co/jzxvbujzoy
— bomani (@bomani_jones) November 2, 2021
It’s true Mayfield has been playing through an injury, as pointed out by FS1’s talking head Skip Bayless. But OBJ is fighting through injuries as well.
"Ship Odell out. He's got to go by tomorrow." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/F0kQFHMAGl
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 1, 2021
As a former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback, Mayfield’s inability to sync up with an All-Pro wide receiver like OBJ is baffling. Any good quarterback in the league would thrive with OBJ as a weapon.
Something has got to give in Cleveland, because this situation is not sustainable.
The #FreeOBJ “campaign” has begun on social media, and NBA superstar and Akron, Ohio, native LeBron James tweeted support for OBJ.
OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 2, 2021
A commenter under Beckham Sr.’s Instagram post wrote the following:
No matter what anyone says I can tell baker just doesn’t wanna get Odell the ball, he can have all the excuses in the world but it shows. He just genuinely doesn’t wanna give Odell the ball and when he does it’s usually in bad situations to make it look bad on Odell. Either he’s hating on Odell or he just doesn’t want him shining frfr u can’t tell me otherwise at this point.
Beckham Sr. responded with three check emojis.
Ok, so maybe “Everybody Hurts” was a bit dramatic … but was it though?
OBJ is still super rich and gets to play football for a living. Not a bad life for some. But as a competitor he wants to win and contribute to winning.
It’s highly unlikely OBJ is a member of the Browns next season. The question Browns fans are asking is should Mayfield be gone too?
