The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Super Bowl chase motivates Beckham
WR on injury rehab: ‘I’m ready to get out on the field, that’s when it will be’
Odell Beckham Jr. is preparing for his third season with the Browns, and fans, coaches plus teammates alike are still waiting to see the player who starred for the Giants from 2014-2016 — a long time ago on a football timeline.
Beckham was at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills on July 25 for his youth football camp conducted by ProCamps. He looked sleek and ready for the start of training camp July 28 in Berea. But he and the Browns will be cautious about his return from season ending knee surgery on Nov. 10 because catching passes from Baker Mayfield in the fall is far more important than what happens in August.
“I came back for a reason,” Beckham said during a brief interview session with the media. “I feel like we have a special opportunity. I was down in Austin (Texas) with Bake. I’ve seen him a few times since then, just kicking it and hanging out. There’s something that feels special about this team.
“Watching the Bucs win a championship inspires me even more. Cleveland needs a championship. That’s the goal and that’s the mentality in that building and I want to be a part of it. The only reason to go through this (rehab) is to get one of them rings.”
Beckham caught 23 passes in six games before his season ended on the first play in Cincinnati on Oct. 25. The Browns won that game, 37-34, behind Mayfield’s season-high five touchdown passes.
They lost to the Raiders, 16-6, a week later and then had their bye Nov. 8.
The offense transformed during the bye week when Mayfield, head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt met to tweak what worked and throw out what didn’t work in the first half of the season.
The transformation isn’t reflected in Mayfield’s individual stats because the games against the Texans and Eagles, and the Raiders prior to the bye, were all played in foul weather. But the Browns won six of their last eight regular season games. A 22-16 loss to the Jets in the 15th game was played with wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan PeoplesJones and KhaDarel Hodge all on the reserve/COVID-19 list. None of the four tested positive, but they had close contact with someone who did.
Now that he is healthy, Beckham wants to be part of the fun.
“It can be one play, it can be two, but I feel like I make the most of those plays,” Beckham said. “I feel like I make the very dangerous plays, and that’s what I want to be able to add. The one game that hurt me most was watching (the playoff loss to) Kansas City and feeling I could have done something to help the team.
“Scoring 40 points a game, you see how the offense starts to click. It’s a new team, a new coach. Everything in life deals with time. I think it was just a matter of time until everything got rolling, which it did. I’m excited to be back and be part of that. I’m in a different place mentally.”
Beckham said he learned from recovering from past surgeries not to rush his return from the one in November.
“At this point, we’re just running our race,” he said when asked if he’ll be ready for the season opener. “In the past, I’ve been caught up in this question. Whenever I’m ready to get out on the field, that’s when it will be. Whenever the team, the docs, my team, clears it, we’ll be ready — Week One, Week 17, I don’t know. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll be ready.”
Beckham caught 288 passes for 4,122 yards and 35 touchdowns in his first three years with the Giants. He has 16 touchdown catches since then. He caught 74 passes for 1,035 yards with the Browns in 2019, but scored only four touchdowns. He caught three touchdown passes and scored one on a 50-yard run in 2020 before his season abruptly ended.