BROWNS BEST OFF KEEPING BECKHAM DESPITE DISMAL ’19
Receiver slowed by poor coaching, injuries, an overwhelmed QB, Jerry Brewer writes.
This is how fast an NFL career moves: Three years have passed since Odell Beckham Jr. really produced like Odell Beckham Jr.
It’s a mystifying thought because he is just 27 and few would question his status as one of football’s elite talents. Nevertheless, for a wide receiver on a lucrative second contract and supposedly at the start of his prime, it’s concerning that you can split Beckham’s six pro seasons into two distinct halves.
In his first three seasons, Beckham averaged 96 receptions, 1,374 yards and almost 12 touchdowns per season during an historically explosive start to his career. But when the
2019 season ends, it will mark the third straight year in which Beckham has failed to catch at least 90 passes, gain at least 1,300 yards and score double-digit touchdowns.
Blame it on injuries: A broken ankle limited him to four games in 2017; a quad injury ended a good season (77 receptions, 1,052 yards, six touchdowns) after 12 games a year ago; and a sports hernia is limiting his effectiveness in 2019, though he hasn’t missed any games.
Blame it on quarterback issues, from Eli Manning getting old in New York to Baker Mayfield being too green in Cleveland.
Blame it on franchise dysfunction and turnover: After playing for three head coaches in five seasons with the New York Giants, Beckham was traded to Cleveland before this season to play for his fourth coach, Freddie Kitchens, who has had a perplexingly difficult time featuring him in the Browns offence.
But blame it on Beckham, too. Compare him to his few true peers who have similar productivity, longevity and stature — Julio Jones, Deandre Hopkins, Michael Thomas and Antonio Brown — and Beckham trails them when it comes to consistency and durability. Take the self-sabotaging Brown off the list and Beckham lags way behind in comfort and stability. It figures because he’s on his second team, but even if he were still with the Giants, you’d have the sense that Beckham is fidgety, restless and unsettled because those are his defining personality traits.
His ability is stunning: The athleticism, the speed, the one-handed catches, the toughness and determination in pursuit of the football. But the deeper Beckham gets into his career, the more his mercurial temperament interferes with his reliability as a playmaker. More than injury misfortune, stardom is choking the greatness out of him. He is burdened by the expectations of his celebrity when he should be simply obsessed with competition.
Beckham should have the second half of a Hall of Fame career left in his body. But his mind will determine whether he plays to the lofty standard he set during his first three seasons. For that reason, for some much-needed stability, it’s best that he shake off the embarrassment of this disappointing first season with the Browns, have that sports hernia surgery in the off-season and commit to finishing the process with a team that needs time and adjustment more than an overhaul.
As the 2019 season lumbers to the end, speculation is rampant about Beckham’s level of unhappiness and whether he wants to be traded for a second straight year. The receiver has been typically vague. Considering the disaster the Browns are, Beckham has plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied. Then again, considering Beckham hasn’t made a great impact, the Browns and their fans have plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied as well. But it’s too soon to let frustration dictate what happens next.
If the Browns dealt Beckham, they might have a hard time executing a flip that would be worth it. Nine months ago, they gave the Giants a first-round draft pick, a third-rounder and safety Jabrill Peppers. Through 14 games, Beckham has 67 receptions, 910 yards and two touchdowns. He probably will finish with the fifth 1,000-yard season of his career, but he’s on pace to post his worst statistical season when playing at least 12 games.
When the season ends, he likely will need to have a pretty significant surgery. Several teams would still be interested in trading for Beckham, but because of these circumstances, the Browns would have trouble getting them to offer full value. Cleveland is better off retaining his services.
Plus, after one strange season, it’s hard to make a definitive judgment of this partnership. Mayfield played poorly. The offensive line struggled in pass protection. The job overwhelmed Kitchens, a first-time NFL head coach. So it wasn’t just that Beckham struggled.
Last week, reports circulated that he has been telling players and coaches on other teams that he wants out. He dismissed it, albeit in a weird and noncommittal way.
On Sunday, the more frustrated receiver was Jarvis Landry, Beckham’s longtime friend and former college teammate, who yelled at Kitchens on the sideline because he wanted more passes thrown his way. It led to the most expressive image of the Browns’ exasperating season: Landry and Beckham sitting together on the bench, spiritless, hunched over with elbows on tights. Landry hung his head and looked as if he were about to cry or pray or let the guillotine have its way.
Beckham interlocked his fingers and stared the longest, blankest stare.
More than injury misfortune, stardom is choking the greatness out of him. He is burdened by the expectations of his celebrity