Beckham Jr. plans to keep wearing lavish watch in games for Browns
BEREA, OHIO >> Watch it: Odell Beckham Jr.’s taking a stand against the NFL on his lavish wrist wear.
Beckham said Tuesday that he intends to keep wearing the expensive watch he had on during Sunday’s season opener against the Tennessee Titans. The showy wide receiver believes the league has made an issue out of his jewelry only because it’s him.
“I’m here to play football. I would love for them to talk about football and what I do on the field, if I messed up on the field or if I didn’t do well on the field, talk about my performance,” he said. “Don’t talk about any extracurricular, that’s just it. If anybody else would’ve worn the watch, or if it was a $20 watch, it wouldn’t have been no problem.”
Beckham feels he’s being targeted.
“Yeah, that’s just my life,” he said. “If it ain’t this, it’s something else. If it wasn’t the watch, it would’ve been the way that I tie my shoes.”
On Monday, a league spokesman said there is no rule prohibiting players from wearing jewelry. However there is a policy “prohibiting hard objects.”
The league spoke to the Browns, but to this point Beckham said he has not been contacted.
Beckham drove his customized orange Rolls Royce to Sunday’s game at FirstEnergy Stadium and then sported a Richard Mille watch, which retails for more than $200,000.
Beckham caught seven passes for 71 yards in his Cleveland debut, but the Browns were blown out 43-13.
The 26-year-old Beckham doesn’t believe he’s breaking any rules, and his watch is within regulations because it’s plastic.
“It shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. “You’ve got to look into the rulebook. It says you can’t wear any hard objects. The watch is plastic. But people have knee braces on that are hard and made out of metal and you don’t see them taping it up, no jewelry on, so I’m good.”
Jets sign former PSU kicker Ficken, waive Vedvik
The New York Jets have signed Sam Ficken to try to solve their ongoing kicking woes.
The team also announced Tuesday it has waived Kaare Vedvik after he missed an extra point and a 45-yard field-goal attempt in the Jets’ 17-16 season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Ficken becomes the team’s fourth kicker since July. The Jets opened training camp with Chandler Catanzaro, who retired after a shaky preseason opener. Taylor Bertolet replaced him, but also had issues. He missed two extra points in his first game, and then kicked two field goals to account for all the scoring in a 6-0 victory over Philadelphia, but missed three other attempts.
Vedvik was claimed off waivers from Minnesota on Sept. 1, and Bertolet was waived.
Ficken was with Green Bay during training camp before he was waived among the Packers’ final cuts. The former Penn State standout has also spent time with Jacksonville (2016), Kansas City (2017), the Los Angeles Rams (2017-18) and Seattle (2019).
Ficken is 3 for 6 on field goals in four career games, and is 1 for 2 on extra points.
Giants player testifies murder suspect’s hearing
New York Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine has testified at a preliminary hearing about the fatal shooting of his best friend and former Washburn University teammate.
Ballentine testified Monday, a day after making his NFL debut. He was wounded April 27 in Topeka in the shooting that killed 23-yearold Dwane Simmons, just hours after the Giants drafted Ballentine.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Ballentine testified in a preliminary hearing for 18-year-old Alejandro Mendez, of Topeka, who is charged with first-degree murder and 11 other counts. He recounted how he, Simmons and others were standing outside a house when a car stopped nearby and began firing at the group.
Simmons, a defensive back who would have been a senior this fall, was killed. Ballentine was shot in the buttocks.
After the hearing, Mendez was bound over for trial.