Getty Images Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Odell Beckham Jr. has looked great in his journey back from a torn ACL, however, the Cleveland Browns star pass-catcher won’t be rushing back until he knows he’s ready to go.
Beckham spoke to reporters at his during his youth football camp on Sunday, reflecting on his journey back.
“At this point, we’re just running our race,” Beckham said. “I feel like in the past, I’ve been caught up in this question. I’m not really here for it anymore. Whenever I’m ready to get out on the field, that’s when it will be. Whenever the team, the docs, my team, gets cleared, we’ll be ready to go. Whenever that is, Week 1, Week 17, I don’t know. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll be ready.”
Odell Beckham Jr. says he’s “running his own race” and isn’t putting a time table on a return for Week 1.
Beckham pointed out that he might have been caught in the “ego challenge” of rushing back previously, but that usually only results in further injury.
“You get hurt and we’re all men and we want to show everyone we’re a man and we want to come back,” Beckham said, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “It (becomes) all this ego challenge. I’m not really in it for all that anymore because I don’t feel like I really have anything to prove except to myself and me wanting to be the best.
“I did want to have the fastest comeback ever and all these things but then I’m like, what accolade is that really? I want to be able to have the best season I can possibly have. That’s why I say we’re just running our race and whenever the time is, I will be ready.’’
Beckham Was ‘Hurt’ Watching Browns Playoff Loss
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns came up just a few plays short against the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round a year ago and Beckham would have been a great asset against the Kansas City defense that showed it was vulnerable to big plays.
“I watched [my teammates] compete last year, and the one game that hurt me the most is watching Kansas City and feeling like, man, I know that I could have made one play, just something to help the team win,” Beckham said.
#Browns Odell Beckham Jr.: “The one game that hurt me the most, watching Kansas City. I know that I could have made one play, just something to help the team.”
But now he’s back and feels like there’s special potential with this Browns squad, which made some big additions in the offseason.
“I think that there’s something special going on,” Beckham told reporters. “There’s something special with this city. Watching the Bucs win a championship inspires you even more. Cleveland needs a championship, and I think that’s the goal, that’s the mentality in that building and that’s what I want to be a part of.”
Beckham: ‘I’m in a Different Place’
Beckham played in just seven games last year before suffering the season-ending knee injury, recording 23 catches on 43 targets for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
While Beckham carries a diva reputation, for the most part, he’s been anything but that in Cleveland. He’s said all the right things, supported his quarterback and has shown how much he wants to help the team win.
He’s ready to contribute again and make the “dangerous plays” that made him a household name.
“I think just the things that I’m able to do on the field, which is it can be one play, it can be two but I feel like I make the most of those plays. I make very dangerous plays,” he said. “That’s just what I want to be able to add. They’re scoring 40 points a game and you’ve seen how the offense starts to click. It’s a new team, new coach, and it’s just like everything in life deals with times and I think it was just a matter of time before the thing got rolling, which it did, so I’m excited to be back, be a part of that and just compete at a high level again. I’m in a different place mentally this time.”
The Browns open the season on Sept. 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Browns WR Odell Beckham Sheds Light on Return Timeline