The Cleveland Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. seemed destined for separation. A day after social media drama surrounding Beckham’s father reposting a video and LeBron James tweeting #FreeOBJ, the Browns had the receiver stay home from practice as the front office and his agents “discussed the next steps,” according to Kevin Stefanski.
Earlier today, our own Jeff Risdon reviewed what could be next for the Browns and Beckham. Jeff did a great job of breaking down the options including a few that could end up bringing the NFLPA into the discussion.
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The Browns could attempt to place Beckham on the injured reserve list.
If the Browns attempt to place Beckham on IR, the NFLPA could make the case that he has played the last few weeks and hasn’t reinjured his shoulder therefore should not be eligible for the list.
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Remain on the roster but stay inactive
While this one seems simple, the current comparison case with Deshaun Watson does not work. Watson is at the team facility and around the team. If the Browns tried to do this but keep the receiver away from the facility without the player’s consent, the NFLPA would likely fight them denying him access to training and medical staff with Watson as the current reference point.
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Waive for conduct detrimental to the team
As Jeff notes, “The NFLPA would absolutely fight this if the Browns tried it, barring any provable circumstance that is currently not known.”
Involving the NFLPA involves another Browns player, J.C. Tretter. As the president of the association, Tretter is involved in issues involving player concerns. All offseason, we have heard from Tretter involving offseason participation, vaccine and other COVID-19 related policies.
Tretter could excuse himself from anything related to the Beckham case due to what could be considered a conflict of interest but that is far from certain. His role is about the entire membership of the NFLPA and protecting them now and in the future.
The NFLPA, like most organizations, is concerned with allowing precedents to be set. Allowing Cleveland to do any of the things listed above without fighting could set up future players for similar treatment. As the NFLPA president, Tretter’s job is not to allow that to happen. As the team’s center, he has a job to do during the week and on Sundays.
If the Beckham situation is to resolve itself with the receiver not returning to the field, it is very likely that his teammate Tretter and the NFLPA would end up involved with the process. That could make things complicated in Berea.