It wasn’t an overt message to the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon, but New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo didn’t leave a whole lot of wiggle room regarding this week’s upcoming minicamp.
He wants everyone there, to a man. After all, it is mandatory minicamp.
This week represents the last time the Giants will all, theoretically, be together before the start of training camp. It is three days where they can lay some crucial groundwork and hammer out some minor issues before going away for the summer.
Coaches love these three days, especially under the new collective bargaining agreement which has turned practice into glorified two-hand touch.
It is the closest to a training camp environment that a team can have all offseason before actual camp opens up in July.
And with two of his biggest stars in the wide receiver Beckham and defensive end Vernon, there is a hope from McAdoo that two players who have missed out on the recently concluded Organized Team Activities (OTAs) will be at the team facility.
“Yeah, sure, I expect everyone to be here,” McAdoo said. “I am not spending time talking about attendance, but yeah it is minicamp and we look forward to everyone being here next week.”
Both players have missed OTAs, which are involuntary for attendance. But if either misses minicamp, then the players can be fined by the team for their lack of attendance.
Vernon’s reason for missing OTAs was never officially revealed, but the same can’t be said for Beckham.
Shortly after the team picked up his fifth-year option on his rookie contract, it has been revealed that Beckham’s absence was because the star pass catcher is looking to sign a new contract with the team ahead of the 2017 season.
While Beckham is one of the biggest bargains in the NFL, it brings unnecessary speculation and finger-pointing from fans and the media, something not needed at this juncture in the season. Just more potential drama for a team that went through plenty last year, mostly from Beckham and his antics.
