While Odell Beckham Jr. just completed his first season with the Cleveland Browns, that hasn't done anything to quell the trade rumors that he has been dealing with over the past few years. After being dealt from the New York Giants, the Browns became a favorite to win Super Bowl LIV last season -- but they fell flat on their faces.
Cleveland went 6-10 and Beckham caught just 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns in 2019 -- the lowest numbers he's posted when playing a full 16-game season. It was also Beckham's worst catch rate of his career. The mainstream expectation was going from Eli Manning to Baker Mayfield would lead to improved production, but the reality was the opposite. First-year head coach Freddie Kitchens was fired and former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski took over. Since he was not a part of the team that made the decision to acquire Beckham, many thought he would best serve as a trade asset -- but the Browns have remained consistent in saying they do not plan on trading the three-time Pro Bowler.
Recently, Browns general manager Andrew Berry gave his strongest statement regarding Beckham -- saying he is viewed as a long-term member of the organization.
"With all due respect to the question, I think this is actually a topic, at least from our perspective, there really hasn't been a ton of ambiguity," Berry said, via NFL.com. "We've been clear from the beginning that we view Odell as a fantastic player. We're a better team with him on the field. We see him as a long-term member of the organization. We really like how he's acclimated and adjusted with the new staff. So the rumors, that's not something that we can control, but we're happy to have him as a part of our organization."
Earlier this month, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report reported that sources with several different teams said that they believe it's only a matter of time before Beckham is traded from the Browns -- and they believe it has more to do with his fit with quarterback Baker Mayfield. General managers have lied before concerning their interest in trading away key players before -- remember that the Giants signed him to a lucrative new deal just before shipping him off to Cleveland. But it does appear Berry is serious when he says Beckham the Brown is here to stay.