Tag: Odell Beckham Jr. Cleveland Browns

Browns Vs Bears: Midweek injury report has Mayfield, OBJ full participants

Two vital offensive players are full go in practice while four of the five starting offensive linemen are either limited or do not practice:

The Cleveland Browns have had a lot of struggles with injuries as of late including concerns on their offensive line with Chris Hubbard missing the last game and Jedrick Wills leaving during the game.

In what could have been the biggest story, quarterback Baker Mayfield injured his shoulder making a tackle after an interception against the Houston Texans. Mayfield didn’t miss any snaps but there was lingering concern that he could miss some practice time.

Odell Beckham Jr.’s return has also lingered for the team as head coach Kevin Stefanski and staff made a game-time decision in Week 1 to hold him out before ruling him out for Week 2 to start the week.

Today’s midweek injury report for Browns Vs. Bears lists both Mayfield and Beckham as full participants while Hubbard and Wills did not practice:

 

J.C. Tretter has missed practices over the last few years to maintain his body while Sione Takitaki becomes the next on the long list of minor hamstring issues.

The Bears have already announced that Justin Fields would start against the Browns due to injury to Andy Dalton while it seems that the other non-participants should be short-term issues with Jimmy Graham just getting a rest day and Akiem Hicks ill.

With Beckham finally getting to fully participate, signs are good that he will be active on Sunday but the Browns will play that day-to-day at this point.

Flashback: 2 years ago the Browns traded for Odell Beckham Jr.

Where were you when you heard the news?

Where were you when you heard the news on March 12, 2019?

I was at my daughter’s volleyball practice when my phone started going crazy. The Browns had just pulled off a stunning, blockbuster trade with the New York Giants for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Two people I’ve grown to trust as Browns sources over the years had tipped me off that talks were progressing, but they didn’t have a scope of the full deal or the timing. There had been rumors swirling since before the prior season, believe it or not. Earlier that very day, two prominent New York-based NFL reporters had shot down any notion that the Giants were moving Beckham, so I was caught unaware like most everyone.

Dodging errant serves and shanked passes as I sat at the side of the gym, I pounded every source I could find while also reassuring inquiring minds on social media that the deal was, in fact, real.

The final details of the deal resulted in the Browns sending a 2019 first-round pick (New York drafted DT Dexter Lawrence), third-round pick (EDGE Oshane Ximines) and safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants for Beckham. while commonly lumped together, the Olivier Vernon-Kevin Zeitler trade was a separate transaction, though both players were included in the negotiating process and that subsequent deal sprang from the aftermath of Beckham.

The on-field impact from Beckham hasn’t developed as dynamically as hoped. He’s caught 97 passes for 1,354 yards and seven TDs in 23 games over two seasons. He topped those combined figures in each of the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Giants. There have been injuries both nagging (the sports hernia that required surgery) and drastic (the torn ACL that ended his 2020 early) and a radical offensive scheme change from 2019 to 2020 that he had to make without the benefit of practice time as he rehabbed from surgery.

Many in the New York media warned of diva behavior and a team-killing attitude. Beckham has never been anything of the sort, despite many in the New York media still trying to will it into existence. He’s eccentric and loves attention, but those aren’t crimes against football. Even though he hasn’t produced as hoped — yet — the Browns are better for having him. It was a sign the team was prepared to start winning and aggressively acquiring talent. That sentiment has only blossomed. Beckham is no small part of that mindset.

LeBron James wowed by Jarvis Landry to Odell Beckham Jr. for TD

LeBron James was impressed by Jarvis Landry to Odell Beckham Jr.

You can have LeBron James playing for Los Angeles but you can’t take his heart out of Cleveland.

As the Lakers’ forward prepared for Game 3 of The NBA Finals against the Miami Heat Sunday, he spent the early part of the day watching his beloved Cleveland Browns.

And he loved what he saw when Jarvis Landry found Odell Beckham Jr. for a TD in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.

James knows something about fancy passing plays, knows a thing or two about assists.