The Cleveland Browns have agreed to acquire star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants, CBS Sports has confirmed. The Browns are sending a first- and third-round pick in 2019 along with safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants for Beckham, one of the NFL’s top players, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because league rules prohibit teams from announcing trades until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The deal is conditional on both players passing physicals.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media first reported the news, which was confirmed by CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora.
With the Browns, Beckham will be reunited with receiver Jarvis Landry, a teammate at LSU. He’ll also give quarterback Baker Mayfield an elite target, and his arrival vaults the Browns, who went 7-8-1 last season after not winning a game in 2017, into legitimate championship contenders.
La Canfora reported on CBS Sports HQ on Tuesday night, there should be plenty of issues that Odell has to deal with in terms of his contract. Beckham was not, La Canfora reported, a part of the trade talks between the two teams as the negotiations were going along.
As CBS Sports’ William Brinson writes, Beckham if he wanted, could potentially raise a stink about the trade and wanting a new contract — a la Antonio Brown to the Bills in a deal that fell through — and create some issues. That being said, he’s going to a good spot on a fun young team with a ton of talented skill position players.
