Odell Beckham Jr. 'excused' from Browns practice following Baker Mayfield beef
The drama in Cleveland continues. The Browns allegedly “excused” star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from practice after he prepared to practice as usual on Wednesday.
On the Browns’ practice report, Beckham classified as “DNP,” or did not practice, due to a “non-injury related personal matter.”
Beckham’s tenure with the team has been filled with inconsistency, injuries, and frustration, and his chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield is lacking.
Beckham Jr.’s father recently posted an 11-minute video on Instagram that contained plays where Mayfield missed Beckham Jr. despite being open, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman.
Beckham Jr. is in his third year with the Browns. In his first year in Cleveland, he played in all 16 games. He hauled in 74 receptions for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. But since then, the inconsistency has been very apparent.
Last season, Beckham Jr. appeared in seven games, hauling in 23 receptions on 43 targets for 319 yards and three touchdowns. This year through six games, he has 17 receptions on 34 targets for 232 yards without a touchdown. The Browns have dealt with injuries and other issues on offense, which is the reason Beckham Jr. is the team’s second-leading receiver.
Mayfield is dealing with a serious shoulder injury that he intends to play through. On the season, Mayfield has thrown for 1,699 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. The Browns are 4-4 with a game versus the Cincinnati Bengals coming up on Sunday afternoon.
Mayfield, Beckham Jr. chemistry lacking
Odell Beckham Jr. is a talented wide receiver. He has 1,000 receiving yards in each of the five seasons where he has appeared in 12 games. But over his last 13 games with Cleveland, he has less than 600 yards.
A reason behind the inconsistency could be a lack of chemistry between Mayfield and Beckham Jr., at least according to Stephen A. Smith.
“You can see that the relationship between Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. is virtually nonexistent,” Smith said on First Take Tuesday morning. “There is no chemistry, there is no cohesiveness, there is no feeding of the ego because we have a quarterback with an ego I believe to be just as big as that wide receiver. I think all of that comes into play.
“That leads to minimal amounts of targeting, which we saw this past weekend when Odell Beckham Jr. was targeted only once. We also see a guy in Odell Beckham Jr. who’s spirit just ain’t in it.”
NBA superstar LeBron James believes in Beckham Jr. James tweeted his praise of the receiver.
“OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ,” James tweeted.