The dust has officially settled on one of the most highly publicized NFL trades in recent memory. Browns, who in March of 2019 acquired the three-time Pro Bowl receiver via trade with cincy peppers New York Giants.
In exchange for Beckham, the Giants received strong safety Jabrill Peppers and two draft picks that became first-round defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and third-round pass rusher Oshane Ximines. Giants: Jabrill PeppersA 2017 first-round pick, Peppers has been a full-time starter during his two-plus seasons in New York. In 32 games with the Giants, Peppers has tallied 196 tackles, two interceptions, four forced fumbles and 17 passes defensed. His 2021 came to a premature end when he suffered season-ending knee and ankle injuries in the Giants’ Week 7 win over the Panthers. 5 sacks in 31 starts during his first two seasons in New York. And while he has started in only four of the Giants’ first nine games this season, Lawrence continues to be a solid contributor on New York’s defensive line. In eight games this season, Ximines has made 12 tackles with three pass breakups.
His best remains remains his first, when he recorded 4. Beckham and the Browns had a much quieter 2020 offseason. With the drama temporarily behind them, Beckham and the Browns went 5-2 to start the 2020 season. But he suffered a torn ACL against the Bengals that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Without Beckham, the Browns finished the regular season with an 11-5 record.
With Beckham still working his way back from his 2020 injury, the Browns split their first two games of the 2021 season with Beckham sidelined. He made his season debut in Week 3, where he caught five of nine targets for 77 yards in Cleveland’s 26-6 win over Chicago. But Beckham’s production tailed off after that. He caught a combined four passes for 47 yards in the Browns’ next two games. Despite being in obvious pain, Beckham played and caught two passes during the Browns’ Week 7 win over Denver. He had just one catch for six yards in Cleveland’s Week 8 loss to the Steelers in what was his final game as a Brown.
Including the playoffs, the Browns were 9-5 in games without Beckham. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was clearly better in games without Beckham. While it’s hard to call either team a winner, the Giants appeared to be the team that benefitted more from the trade. That being said, the Beckham experience may not have been a total failure in Cleveland, as the Browns have realized that less is sometimes more when it comes to building winning teams. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Sorry, this content is not available in your region.