The Giants called it a bruised quad.

Odell Beckham called it a hematoma.

But was it really just an act of defiance? One former New York quarterback believes so.

“Odell took himself off the field last year for four games after making $19 million,” Boomer Esiason of CBS’ “The NFL Today” told NJ Advance Media. “That takes a lot of chestnuts.”

Beckham missed the final four games of last season with a mysterious leg injury that revealed how the star receiver and the team could not see eye-to-eye on just about anything. The Giants kept expecting Beckham’s condition to improve while Beckham kept seeing doctors and insisting “shi- ain’t right.”

Here’s a refresher course: In his final appearance with the Giants, Beckham threw a momentum-shifting touchdown pass and appeared to shy away from contact on an onside kick, afterward balking at questions of his effort.

Beckham didn’t appear on the official injury report until two days before the next game, then suddenly was ruled out with the Giants still in the playoff hunt. He never returned, practicing off to the side each day.

Asked if he wasn’t buying Beckham’s injury, Esiason said, “I don’t know. He had 1,000 yards and (six) touchdowns or something. ‘OK, I’m good. As long as I get my 1,000-yard season.’

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https://www.nj.com/giants/2019/08/bo...chestnuts.html