Odell Beckham Jr. didn't think the speculation was warranted, but he put it to rest Wednesday anyways.
The talented wide receiver said he wants to be with the Browns and plans to be with the team for the long haul because it's "too special" of a situation to leave after just one season.
"It's done. It's old. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here," Beckham said after Wednesday's practice, the Browns' first of the week as they prepare to face the AFC North champion Ravens. "We're going to figure this thing out. It's just too special to leave.
"We're going to be here. We're going to do it again and we're going to be what we felt we should have been and correct all the little mistakes and all the 'if we would have did this…' games. It's just too good. I didn't buy a house to sell it."
That answer reflects what Beckham's teammates -- particularly his closest friend, Jarvis Landry -- and coach Freddie Kitchens have said throughout a stretch of time in which speculation swirled about Beckham's happiness in Cleveland.
Though he was vague when confronted about the topic in recent weeks, Beckham, who came to Cleveland in March via trade from the New York Giants, was definitive Wednesday. He didn't want any more reports to cloud what his teammates may or may not think about his future intentions.
"I bought a house here for a reason," Beckham said. "I called Baker (Mayfield) after I got traded, and Jarvis, and talked about the future for a reason. I don't know if it happened last week, if it's been this way, it hasn't been said, but here it is. I'll put it on the table for you.
"I've really turned the page and I feel so much better about where I'm at. To kind of see some of the old stuff come back, I'm just done with it."
From an individual and team perspective, it's been an understandably frustrating year for Beckham.
He's been on the injury report every week during the regular season with a hip/groin injury that also limited his participation in training camp. He hasn't missed a game, but his individual production -- 67 catches, 910 yards, 2 TDs -- hasn't met his career averages. Still, Beckham on Tuesday was named as a Pro Bowl alternate and has made some team history as being a part of the first Browns receiving tandem with 800+ yards apiece.
Helping to find a remedy to how the team can improve over the final two games and in 2020 and beyond is at the top of Beckham's to-do list.
"If you just take a look at the season and be realistic and not try to pick and choose or look at the controversy, we could have, would have, should have with a lot of games that turned out to not go our way," Beckham said. "There's the Rams game, 49ers got into us, Seahawks, second Steelers game. There's so many games where we could be sitting here, 10-6, 12-4, 11-5 … anything but 6-8 at this moment.
"I'm just excited. I'm not trying to look too far ahead to next year because there's still an opportunity here."
