Odell Beckham Jr. Says He Respects and Values John Mara's Opinion

New York Giants owner John Mara was recently critical of Odell Beckham Jr. for making headlines off the field, but the star wideout is not about to get into a war of words with management.

"I respect and value his opinion," Beckham said on Friday, via Yahoo Sports' Kimberly A. Martin.

Beckham ruffled some feathers when he questioned his team's heart and energy in a sitdown with ESPN's Josina Anderson earlier this month following a 1-3 start to the season:

In that interview, the receiver also questioned why New York "can't throw the ball for more than 20 yards."

Those comments did not sit well with the Giants organization. Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported in the aftermath that New York coach Pat Shurmur was "absolutely livid" with Beckham and that the team fined the star.

Beckham recently said in a video for I Am More: OBJ that he didn't feel like it was necessary for him to apologize for his comments.

On Tuesday, Mara decided to publicly weigh in on the controversy.

"I wish he would create the headlines by his play on the field as opposed to what he says and what he does off the field," Mara said, per ESPN's Dan Graziano. "I think he needs to do a little more playing and a little less talking."

Thus far in 2018, Beckham has 45 catches for 506 yards and just one touchdown. He has three 100-yard games through the first six games but also three games with 60 yards or fewer. 

Beckham has dealt with cramping at times, which he revealed to reporters on Friday could be due to the fact he doesn't like water:

Ironically enough, he followed up his critical comments about the Giants' lack of downfield passing by throwing a 57-yard touchdown pass in the next game.

The quarterback will get credit when a team wins and blame when it loses. However, Beckham made it clear that Manning isn't the only one who needs to step up if New York is going to start winning games.

"We're 1-5," Beckham said, per Raanan. "Everybody has to play better."

Winning cures everything, but until that happens, Beckham and the Giants are going to have to find a way to make their relationship work—because they're both in it for the long haul. Beckham signed a record five-year, $95 million extension in August.

That deal came into question after Beckham told Anderson that it was a "tough question" when asked if he was unhappy in New York.