The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Beckham Jr. a full-go in practice for first time
Odell Beckham Jr. on Sept. 22 was “full-go” at practice for the first time since the Browns began training camp in late July.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said he isn’t ruling Beckham out for the game with the Bears on Sept. 26 at FirstEnergy Stadium. That’s a change from last Wednesday, when Stefanski opened his news conference by saying Beckham would not play in the game with the Texans on Sept. 19.
“We’ll see how he progresses this week, but I expect he’ll be full-go today at practice,” Stefanski said. “The plan is to practice Wednesday and see how it goes this week, but I’m not ruling him out.”
Starting receiver Jarvis Landry was placed on injured reserve Sept. 21 with a sprained left MCL and must miss at least three games. Beckham had ACL surgery on his left knee last November to repair an injury suffered last Oct. 25 in Cincinnati.
Beckham and the Browns are being very cautious about his return to playing. Stefanski said Landry’s status will not affect whether Beckham gets the goahead to play against the Bears.
“We’ve got to be smart with any player coming off of an injury,” Stefanski said. “We have to be mindful of where that player is and then make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Specific to Odell, if he plays in the game, I can’t tell you if there will be a pitch count or not.”
“We have to be mindful of where that player is and then decisions on a case-by-case basis. Specific to Odell, if he plays in the game, I can’t tell you if there will be a pitch count or not.”
— Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on if Odell Beckham Jr will play against the Bears on Sept. 26.
Davion Davis, who flashed in preseason before being suspended two games for a DUI arrest when he was with the Vikings in 2019, was added to the practice squad after being waived Sept. 20. Davis had to clear waivers before he could be res-signed.
A decision on whether to elevate Davis to the 53-man roster will be made later in the week. Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones
would likely start at wide receiver against the Bears if Beckham doesn’t play. Rookies Anthony Schwartz and Demetric Felton would be the backups.
“Jarvis is obviously a bigtime leader for us and a bigtime player,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We just have to have a next-manup mentality. Somebody is going to have to fill that role. Those are big shoes to fill so we’re not asking anybody to do exactly what Jarvis does, but just to be themselves, and we will be OK with that.”
Mayfield played the “not my call” card when asked
about Beckham. For what it’s worth, safety Grant Delpit on a Zoom call Sept. 20 said Beckham will make a return against the Bears. Whether Delpit let slip an announcement made in a team meeting, talked to Beckham on his own or just assumes Beckham will be back, no one knows, but Mayfield isn’t worried.
“We trust these guys, whether it’s Schwartz, Higgy, or Donovan,” Mayfield said. “We’ve played quite a bit with those guys last year, obviously minus Schwartz.
It’s trusting those guys,
me going through my reads and finding those completions and continuing to stay on page and ahead of the chains. I think that’s how this offense works.”
Kareem Hunt said he and Nick Chubb are ready for a heavy workload if the Landry injury means Stefanski wants to rely more on the running game.
Notes
Left tackle Jedrick Wills (ankle), offensive lineman Chris Hubbard (triceps) and linebacker Sione Takitaki (hamstring) did not practice Sept. 22.