While veterans not showing up to OTAs is not necessarily a new thing, Odell Beckham Jr not showing up for his first set of camps for the Cleveland Browns has made a number of headlines. For the most part, those headlines have been about how OBJ's teammates understand why he isn't at the OTAs. There are some who believe he needs to be there even if his team is saying all the right things.

Count Colin Cowherd among those who are advocating for the Cleveland Browns as a whole, though it appears to be more of a way to take a shot at OBJ than anything else.

Cowherd took to his daily radio show to talk about how much he doesn't like the no-shows.

Cleveland Browns being disrespected?

"I got no Antonio Brown in Oakland, no OBJ in Cleveland and no Le'Veon Bell with the Jets... All three should be at OTAs. Show a little respect for your offensive linemen, your quarterback." Considering that Cowherd has long been a vocal critic of Baker Mayfield, it seems interesting that he's suddenly feeling personally affronted by Beckham's absence.

It feels like Cowherd's comments are more about trying to make a controversy out of thin air. Fans that saw the comments on Twitter were quick to point out they didn't really buy into what Cowherd was selling.

Others pointed out that the OTAs were indeed voluntary.

That's something that is usually pointed out when talking about these workouts. This isn't a mandatory camp. Players like OBJ have been spending time working out on their own. It's likely that the Cleveland Browns have been talking to Beckham since they acquired him and making sure the kind of workouts he's been doing are approved by the team.

That isn't to say that there isn't some kind of argument to be made that the Cleveland Browns would like to have OBJ in camp this spring.

There are all kinds of things the receiver could be doing while he actually participates in the workouts with the team. That includes learning how to best mesh with his new quarterback, Baker Mayfield, and the offensive line. One former Browns receiver already claims Mayfield is a better decision-maker than Brett Favre.

You do what you can

NBC Sports recently spoke with Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator Todd Monken about the fact that he's missing some key players. Not only is OBJ sitting out the workouts, but Jarvis Landry is sitting them out due to injury. That means the new OC isn't really able to install his new offense with the team's best players. Monken is still trying to keep a positive vibe.

"The most important part is we have a vast majority of our guys here. In terms of your installs, what we’re doing offensively, our calls and our adjustments receiver-wise, it’s obviously a challenge for our quarterbacks in terms of the receiving corps that are out there, but that’s part of the deal. It’s their job to make them right.” The good news is that the Cleveland Browns will have plenty of workouts before the season starts to work with OBJ and the rest of their new weapons.
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