On Wednesday, New York-based radio host Marc "Moose" Malusis caused a stir when he tweeted details of a trade that would send Odell Beckham Jr. from the Cleveland Browns to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a second-round and fifth-round picks.
As it turns out, there wasn't any fire to the smoke.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson said that he was "was told unequivocally the Vikings haven't had any trade discussions with the #Browns about Beckham Jr. No calls about Beckham Jr. and no discussion of trade compensation." Furthermore, Robinson said the Browns don't have their 3-time Pro Bowl receiver on the trade block.
ESPN's Adam Schefter seemingly corroborated Robinson's tweet when he retweeted it, adding simply "x2."
The reporting from Robinson -- and Schefter -- is consistent with what the Browns have been saying about Beckham for the better part of the offseason. Despite the former New York Giant's first season in Cleveland marking the least productive of his NFL career with 74 receptions for 1,035 yards and 4 touchdowns, Browns general manager Andrew Berry has maintained that Beckham remains a part of the team's plans moving forward.
"Odell's a very talented football player," Berry said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February. "We view him as a part of our future. [Head coach] Kevin [Stefanski] and I have both had really good conversations about our expectations for him and we expect him to adapt to those moving forward. We're excited about the future with Odell. Excited about what he's going to do this fall."
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