For all the controversy it may have sparked outside the organization, Odell Beckham Jr.'s decision to skip OTAs earlier this offseason doesn't seem to have ruffled any feathers within the New York Giants' locker room.
Damon Harrison was in full support of his superstar teammate in an appearance on "Good Morning Football" on Monday, joking that he wasn't too keen on taking part in the light voluntary sessions himself.
"To be 100 percent honest with you I didn't even want to be at the voluntary workouts," Harrison said, according to Conor Orr of NFL.com. "A guy like myself is useless - I'm a physical guy and I can't do anything physical there (because) we don't have on shoulder pads. ... For a guy like Odell, 1,300-plus yards every year he's been in the league, 10-plus TDs every year he's been in the league.
"When you come to a New York Giants game, 98 percent of people in attendance come to see Odell Beckham Jr. The other 2 percent, they're just there to experience a football game. (The fans) are coming to see Odell. Have you seen him this offseason? He looks awesome. As long as you can still do what he needs to do to be prepared for the season ..."
Harrison isn't the only Giants leader to have backed Beckham on this front. Also referencing the young wide receiver's star power, offensive lineman Justin Pugh said in June that he was "good" with him sitting out the voluntary spring work.
Initial reports suggested Beckham's brief absence was related to a desire for a new contract. He promptly denied making any sort of leverage play, though, and it became a non-story when he showed up for the beginning of mandatory minicamp.
Already one of the world's most recognizable athletes, Beckham enters his fourth season looking to help the Giants get back to Super Bowl contention.
If he continues to play at an elite level, it should all but guarantee he'll become the NFL's highest-paid receiver at some point before the fifth and final year of his rookie deal in 2018.
