The New York Giants have yet to begin contract talks with Odell Beckham Jr., but a long-term deal between the team and its star wideout sounds nearly inevitable.
"They haven't begun as of yet, but ... they'll happen at the appropriate time," Giants co-owner John Mara recently told Steve Serby of the New York Post of those contract discussions. "I don't think we have a time frame on it. But we certainly don't want to see him playing in another uniform."
Mara gushed about Beckham as a player and person.
"Listen, he's as exciting a player as we have had on this team in my lifetime, and he brings a lot of energy, a lot of big plays to us. And when you cut through everything else, he actually is a really good kid. He does a lot of wonderful things off the field that people don't know about. He needs to work on controlling his emotions a little bit more. But when he is on the field, the other teams have to pay attention to him … and he strikes fear into the eyes of the other team. As long as you have that ability, he makes your team better. He just adds a lot to us. We really haven't had a player like that here for a long time."
Perhaps Mara gave away some leverage with these comments, but he's secure in knowing Beckham can't play for another team any time soon. The Giants exercised the fifth-year option in Beckham's rookie deal, so he is tied to the team through 2018, and they can use the franchise tag to keep Beckham beyond that.