Could Odell Beckham force divorce from New York Giants?

Most fans categorize Antonio Brown, along with the New York Giants Odell Beckham, as a top NFL receiver.

So Brown’s trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders should be of concern to New York Giants fans, but not for monetary reasons. Contract details aside, the return haul for Pittsburgh, or lack of it, opened some eyes.

It certainly does not seem that the Steelers got much value in return for the mercurial receiver.

According NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Pittsburgh will be getting back a third-round pick and a fifth-round selection, both in this upcoming draft.

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The reworked contract makes Brown the top paid receiver in the league, surely a necessity for the narcissistic receiver. By the way, calling this particular wideout a “narcissist” can be construed as redundant.

And based on Brown’s new contract, the already signed Odell Beckham extension won’t be an impediment to working out a trade with another club.

Basically, Antonio Brown forced his way out of Pittsburgh by alienating players and coaches alike. Then through social media, he called his shot about never going back to the Steel City.

Brown was widely applauded around the sports world for forcing his agenda onto the NFL landscape, and succeeding. In fact, Brown’s photograph with Art Rooney II became more evidence of his power play tactics.

While it’s true that we don’t know the exact details regarding Brown’s locker room behavior, the public has seen enough selfish public behavior to form a judgment that Brown is a complete diva.

To that end, Brown’s clunky departure ought to concern New York Giants fans about Odell Beckham. Keep in mind that there have been undercurrents of an OBJ trade for over a year now. Some folks believe this is “fake news”, but where there’s smoke there’s fire.

Truthfully, there are issues on both sides of this relationship.

First, Beckham has done his fair share of acting out on the sidelines. In fairness, appeared to improve emotionally last season, but then again, his interview with Lil’ Wayne as a sidekick certainly didn’t help matters.

In defense of Beckham, the New York Giants have wasted his talented over the past two seasons, prior to the injuries. Overall, in his five season NFL career, OBJ has not played in many meaningful games. His desire to leave the Giants franchise would have more to do with playing in a Super Bowl than being the top paid receiver.

So going from perennial playoffs contenders in Pittsburgh to the dumpster fire called the Oakland Raiders tell you everything you need to know about Brown.

Could he look at Brown’s strategy in an attempt to get out of Gotham and to a contender?

Based upon age, and his slightly less aggravating personality, Beckham could play hardball with the New York Giants at any time. In addition, Beckham is four years younger than Brown, so he’d probably find many more suitors in the marketplace.

And in more desirable places than Oakland and Buffalo.

For example, apparently the San Francisco 49ers stayed out of the A.B. sweepstakes but would be all-in for a chance to acquire Beckham.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area:

"“The free-agent market is light. But there are indications that if the New York Giants become receptive to trading Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, the 49ers would be interested in discussions. Beckham is four years younger than Brown. He’s also believed to be a more compatible fit in the locker room.”"

There’s little doubt that Landon Collins reluctance to embrace the “franchise tag” hastened his exit from Big Blue. The last thing a rebuilding club needs is a full blown offseason distraction. In Collins case, the G-Men weren’t sold on keeping him in the first place, and an opportunity to move on presented itself.

The same scenario could play out with Beckham, as the current administration doesn’t seem shy about jettisoning any remaining remnants of the Jerry Reese days. That means we have not heard the last of the OBJ trade rumors for this season.

Once training camp hits, it would be difficult for the New York Giants to suddenly reverse course. Anytime prior to July, however, anything can happen. The fact that media covering other NFL teams openly writes about a possible Beckham trade, likely means that despite the denials, his name has come up in discussions.