Tiki Barber: Odell Beckham trade part of 'necessary' process
While many New York Giants fans are still reeling the loss of its superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr., after he was traded earlier this month to the Cleveland Browns, former Giants running back turned entrepreneur, Tiki Barber says the move was tough but “necessary.”
“Our general manager Dave Gettleman says he has a plan and I believe he does have a plan,” Barber, who played 10 seasons with New York Giants told FOX Business.
“I think there's a recalibration that was necessary and it’s happening with the right coach, Pat Shurmur, who I’m a huge fan of.”
Barber, who retired at the end of the 2006 NFL season, one year shy of the Giants defeating the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII in one of the great upsets in NFL history, added that the current team is going through a process right now which can be painful and tough but “it was necessary.”
“Trading Odell sucks because he's so exciting and he's internationally known and he has a great individual brand that you just want to grab ahold of and the Giants have lost that in a sense but I don’t think they've lost themselves,” Barber added.
He says while a lot of people think the Giants are waffling right now, he doesn’t think that’s the case.
“I think they're finding themselves as opposed to letting themselves waffle or float in the wind.”
As for Eli Manning, who despite recent struggles will remain as the team’s franchise quarterback, becoming NFL’s highest-earning player ever over the course of a career, Barber said “good for him.”
“Look, Eli brought two Super Bowl wins to the biggest city and the biggest media market in the country. And, we want to malign him. I don’t but a lot of people want to malign him because they feel like everything is his fault. And, it’s a little bit unfair.”
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Barber said contrary to popular belief, Manning actually played okay last year and he has the potential to be a great asset to the team this year but probably not going forward.
“Next year, Eli will get a chance to ride off the right way.”