Beckham leaves with ankle injury
Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. left Sunday’s 27-24 win against the host Cincinnati Bengals in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
Coach John Harbaugh said after the game that he doesn’t believe the injuries to Beckham and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who did not play most of the second half, are serious but will be examined further in the days ahead. The Ravens did not announce an injury for Oweh.
Inside linebacker Patrick Queen also briefly left the game in the second half Sunday with an apparent shoulder injury, but returned and finished with eight tackles. Quarterback Lamar Jackson said he had a stinger in his hand after being tackled on a late run, but should be OK.
With 5:16 left in the first quarter, Beckham caught a pass over the middle and made a quick cut before being tackled by Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt after a gain of 15 yards. Beckham got up favoring his lower left leg but remained in the game on that drive, which ended with a missed 59-yard field goal attempt by kicker Justin Tucker.
Beckham missed the first few plays of the Ravens’ next possession but remained on the sideline with his helmet on and attempted to stay loose by running in place. He returned to the field with 13:35 left in the second quarter and was later targeted on a deep pass down the right sideline from quarterback Lamar Jackson that fell incomplete. He also earned an illegal contact penalty after being tangled up with TaylorBritt in the end zone late in the second quarter, giving the Ravens a first down after Jackson was sacked on the play.
Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. warms up before the start of Sunday’s game against the Bengals in Cincinnati.
After being ruled out in the second half, Beckham returned to the sideline in street clothes.
Beckham popped up on the injury report with an ankle injury two weeks ago and was limited in practice Sept. 7 but was a full participant the following day.
Beckham has dealt with ankle issues throughout his career after fracturing it in 2017 and undergoing season-ending surgery six years ago.
The 30-year-old Beckham was the Ravens’ marquee free agent signing this offseason, joining the team on a one-year, $15 million deal.
The three-time Pro Bowl selection missed all of 2022 as he recovered from a second torn ACL he suffered in Super Bowl 56 with the Los Angeles Rams.
He ranks 18th among active players in career receiving yards with 7,404.
Beckham’s injury is the latest for a Ravens team that has been banged up early this season. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had foot surgery Aug. 16 and has not played yet, running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in last Sunday’s season-opening win over the Houston Texans and left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee), center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) and safety Marcus Williams (pectoral) all exited against Houston and did not practice this week.
Williams is expected to be out for “a while,” coach John Harbaugh said, while Stanley and Linderbaum are week to week with sprains. Patrick Mekari and Sam Mustipher replaced Stanley and Linderbaum against the Bengals, while safety Geno Stone intercepted a pass near the goal line in the third quarter of his first start in place of Williams.