For the second time in as many games against the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants star receiver Odell Beckham cramped up.
The first time Odell Beckham cramped up at MetLife Stadium against the Birds in October, he caused controversy by leaving for halftime early. That would have been a plausible reason, but according to various reports, no New York Giants training staff member went with him to the locker room in order to administer an IV.
In Week No. 12, again versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Beckham once again cramped, delaying his participation in the second half of a game won 25-22 by Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field.
Undoubtedly it’s not a good look for the star receiver, who signed a five-year, $90 million extension with Big Blue this summer.
This season, the G-Men have proven they don’t have margin for error, so any in-game adversity possesses the ability to adversely impact the game for them. Beckham missed the first series of the second half on Sunday.
Believable?
Previously, there was chatter around the Big Apple sports scene that OBJ left the field early versus the Birds in October before he was upset. A Jake Elliott missed field goal later, OBJ was unavailable for a potential Hail Mary pass with four seconds left.
This time around, Beckham did appear for warm-ups after halftime, when the cramping issue reared its ugly head again.
Beckham was quoted as saying this, per NJ Advance Media:
“I don’t know. I was fine, and I went out for the second half and I went to take off running, and I felt that bite in that calf. Once you cramp in your calf, it’s over with.”
Clearly this seems to be a manageable situation, and for it to pop up on a forty degree day in Philadelphia is particularly troublesome. The New York Giants are clearly a better team with Beckham on the field than without him.
The player, coaching staff and trainers must put their minds together to alleviate this in-game distraction. In addition, these continued impediments seem to be causing a disconnect between Beckham and head coach Pat Shurmur.
