Beckham is moving forward after criticizing NFL

Odell Beckham Jr. apparently is ready to forge ahead into the 2020 NFL season despite remarks he made in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last month.

The 27-year-old wide receiver, now in his second season with the Browns, was inside the team training complex in Berea on Aug. 3 going through conditioning and weight training with his teammates, according to a source close to Beckham. Training camp is presently closed to the media.

A story published Aug. 3 in the Wall Street Journal portrayed Beckham as reluctant to play during the novel coronavirus, but the interview was done before the NFL and NFLPA set the current protocols hammered out in a July 24 agreement, according to an editor’s note attached to the story. Part of the new agreement included eliminating all preseason games.

Two preseason games were still on the schedule when Beckham was interviewed. “I just feel like the season shouldn’t happen and I’m prepared for it to not happen and I wouldn’t mind not having it,” Beckham said at the time. “We’re not ready for the season, so why are we trying to push forward?” Head coach Kevin Stefanski was on a Zoom conference July 30, two days after Beckham and other veterans reported to camp, and said the Browns to keep players safe have gone beyond the precautions agreed to by the league and players’ union. For example, Stefanski is conducting splitsquad walk-throughs, labeling one group “orange” and the other “brown” to increase social distancing. The Browns have created more locker room space by shifting half the lockers to the weight room. Beckham was unaware of these accommodations when he spoke with the WSJ. “I feel very strongly that the protocols that they have given us, we have adhered to them to a tee,” Stefanski said. “The truth is we’ve gone past them. We’re doing things in an abundance of caution that we don’t even have to do. We aren’t going to have in-person meetings until August 9. We’re going to just stay virtual. There are a bunch of things that we’re doing past the protocols, just because the first seven to 10 days or two weeks are so critical to this, per the medical experts, that we really want to do everything in our power to make this as safe an environment for our players as possible.

“To me, it’s a shared responsibility. It’s something that isn’t just one person’s responsibility to stay on top of. We are really going to be counting on our veterans to show some good leadership here.” Beckham will make $14 million in 2020 — assuming there is a season. He told the Wall Street Journal money is the only reason the owners want to proceed with the season. “It’s obviously for their money,’’ Beckham said. “And that bothers me because there’s always been — and I hate saying it like that — but the owners’ (attitude) is ‘Oh, we own you guys’ and just kind of that unfairness going on that they don’t see as human.” Only three Browns players are on the reserve/COVID-19 list — quarterback Garett Gilbert, running back Dontrell Hilliard and defensive back Jovante Moffatt. Each will be allowed to return to practice when he tests for COVID-19 three times. Punter Jamie Gillan was activated from the reserve/ COVID-19 list Aug. 3. Stefanski is hopeful players acting responsibly will keep the Browns’ reserve/COVID-19 numbers low. “We talk so much about being a good teammate, and one of the ways you can be a good teammate is when you leave this bubble and go into your own bubble, just making sure that you are making really sound decisions,” Stefanski said. “Ultimately, you’re taking care of your teammates when you do that – your teammates and your coaches.” Guard Drew Forbes and undrafted rookie tackle Drake Dorbek have opted out of the 2020 season. In an unrelated roster move, safety Karl Joseph was placed on the active/ PUP list Aug. 3 with a foot injury.