Could Week 3 mark Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to field?
On Thursday, the Browns receiver spoke to reporters for the first time this season and said “We’ll see,” when asked if he is going to make his season debut on Sunday against the Bears.
Beckham Jr. has been rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered 11 months ago. In his recovery, he said he’s “taking it a day at a time,” but teased a “special” return.
“I’ve worked extremely hard to not only get back but improve and try to be better than I ever have been,” he told reporters. “So I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s been a long time. It’s been a long time in that cave, putting yourself back together. I had a great team around me for the entire process, great support system. And it’s going to be special. Like I said, it’s been a long time.”
Beckham Jr.’s recovery hasn’t been all physical.
The 28-year-old “said he had the words ‘ACL Rehab’ changed on his paperwork to ‘Spiritual Reconstruction,'” per News 5 in Cleveland.
Odell Beckham’s status for Week 3 is still uncertain.AP“This is just my soul that I need to work on and I’ve found that I’m in a way better place,” he said.
Beckham Jr.’s ACL surgery in 2020 marked the third procedure in his career. In 2019, he had a procedure to repair a sports hernia, and another in 2017 to repair a fractured ankle.
“It’s been a long time since I just thought about the knee. This is the third time being on that surgery table so it’s just a different feeling,” Beckham Jr. admitted. “The first time when I came back from the ankle it was tough to overcome that. I felt like this time it was a lot easier in the process — more of a spiritual healing, I would say.”
The Browns could especially use Beckham in Week 3 against the Bears. Fellow receiver Jarvis Landry is on injured reserve with a sprained MCL.
Cleveland is coming off a 31-21 win against the Texans on Sunday, after falling to the Chiefs in Week 1, 33-29.
