Eli Manning has advice for Odell Beckham Jr. on injury jokes
Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown against the Washington Redskins with teammates Rueben Randle #82 and Eli Manning #10 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Eli Manning hopes Odell Beckham Jr. catches the advice he tossed his way with as much dexterity as he catches footballs.
The quarterback essentially told his young -- and apparently sensitive -- receiver that he needs to take the good with the bad. And while there has been plenty of the good during Beckham's brief career, he's had some trouble dealing with the bad in the past week. In particular, Beckham voiced his frustration with teammates and others who have gotten on his case about missing practices this spring because of a hamstring injury.
"He wants to be out there practicing, he's got to watch and he's got to talk to the media and he's got to deal with the hamstring question over and over," Manning said in an interview on WFAN on Friday morning. "He's still young. He's a young player, and his success has come on him quickly. He's got to learn how to handle the media. Sometimes, hey, if things go wrong, you're not practicing, you just got to sit there and take it and learn from it and move on from it."
Beckham skipped out on a scheduled media availability on Thursday at the conclusion of the team's minicamp, in which he did not participate in team drills.
"I don't think he's mad," Manning said. "I think it's more he probably just doesn't feel like talking a whole lot to the media when he's not practicing, he's not doing anything. It's frustrating. I think he wants to get better. It's tough sitting on the sideline and watching everybody practice."
Manning admitted that he is one of the teammates who has jabbed at Beckham about his inactivity. But, he said, it's "fun-loving" locker room banter and not meant to be taken seriously.
"Guys aren't getting on him or mad at him," Manning said. "We're out there practicing, you're just kind of making fun of [it], you know, you might say, 'Hey, how's your fingernail? Is it still hurt and keeping you out of practice?' Just little things like that, just trying to keep things loose."
Beckham appears to have had his fill of those types of remarks. Earlier this week during minicamp, he told ESPN.com that it "takes a lot of strength for me to be able to come here every day and not practice, have to hear the little remarks, the little jokes, this and that."
The remarks extend beyond the Giants' locker room to other areas of Beckham's life, whether in the traditional media or through his social media interactions with fans.
"Because of the hamstring last year and then the fame, it's like, 'Oh, you're too big-time now,' all that," he said. "So I mean, I just hear it and you want to blow it off, but after a while it gets old, and it kind of bothers you."
Manning said it's natural for Beckham to feel that way.
"I think that's probably a good thing," he said. "I'm friendly with Odell, and we have a great relationship. You're not practicing and people are going to get on you a little bit. It's usually in fun, but I'm sure he is sick of it. He wants to be out there practicing, he doesn't like being on the sideline. He wants to be doing everything. I think that's not a bad thing."
If it drives Beckham to stay on the field and somehow surpass the historic production that won him Rookie of the Year honors in 2014, it won't be. But if it festers and causes a rift within the team, it could be more debilitating to the Giants than any hamstring injury ever could be.
Notes ... quotes: Safety Landon Collins, the team's second-round pick, agreed to terms on his four-year rookie contract. The Giants have signed all of their draft picks. The only player on the roster currently without a contract is defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who was designated with a franchise tag earlier this spring. Pierre-Paul and the Giants have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal. After that, Pierre-Paul must sign his one-year, $14.8-million tender or not play in 2015.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
