Adrian Peterson’s Minnesota Vikings will challenge the New York Giants on Sunday night, but the G-Men won’t have wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. available because he’s suspended for one game.
However, according to Jason Gonzalez of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Peterson said he reached out to Beckham and thinks the young star should be on the field despite repeated altercations with Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman.
“I like both of those guys. Both of those guys are great football players in my eyes. It got physical out there and to me, the way I play, I like that. Both of them, did it kind of get out of hand maybe on one play each? Yeah. But my personal opinion, I don’t think it warranted a suspension. But that’s my one opinion.”
Norman received a pair of fines, but the Panthers won’t be without the defensive back who has constantly provoked — and perhaps bated — opponents into losing their cool.
But there shouldn’t be a problem with what Norman did. Gamesmanship is a part of the NFL, and Beckham must learn to control his temper. This wasn’t the first time the Giants wideout started unnecessarily shoving or slapping an opponent in 2015.
Beckham intentionally chipped Jacksonville Jaguars safety Sergio Brown during the preseason, threw a punch at Buffalo Bills safety Duke Williams after an interception in Week 4 and unquestionably went after Norman in Week 15, spearing the Panthers cornerback while in a full sprint.
Norman isn’t without blame, but he didn’t try to injure Beckham.
Perhaps a suspension wasn’t warranted if Beckham didn’t have a trend of unwarranted and illegal physical play. Instead, the NFL made the right choice and penalized both players properly.