New York Giants' Eli Manning responds to former teammate's criticism

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Odell Beckham Jr. gifts cleats to young fan at training camp after Eli Manning responds to former teammate's criticism

New York Giants' Eli Manning claps back at Cleveland Browns' Odell Beckham Jr. despite his gesture to his new fan base.

Cleveland Browns star Odell Beckham Jr. claimed in an interview his former team, the New York Giants, was only getting primetime games because of him -- and it drew a response from Eli Manning last week.

Beckham told GQ magazine he believes he was the “main reason” the Giants kept receiving primetime coverage despite missing the playoffs four out of the last five seasons.

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“I felt disrespected because I felt like I was a main reason at keeping that brand alive,” Beckham said. “They were getting prime-time games, still, as a 5-and-11 team. Why? Because people want to see the show. You want to see me play. That's just real rap. I'm not sitting here like, ‘It's because of me.’ But let's just be real. That's why we're still getting prime-time games.”

Manning responded Thursday when he was told about Beckham’s comments.

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“I don’t think they bothered me,” the two-time Super Bowl MVP told the NFL Network. “You just kind of shake your head and laugh. I won a few games before he was here.”

It was a rare response from Manning, who has mostly stayed silent during the post-Beckham drama since the Giants traded him to the Browns early in the offseason.

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Manning is certainly going to miss having a dynamic receiver like Beckham on his team and possibly even more now that two Giants receivers were injured in the beginning of training camp and another faces a four-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy.