MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. acknowledged Thursday that he “waited too late” to get his knee fixed for it to be ready for the start of the regular season. But the two-time All-Pro had an eminently reasonable excuse:
He wasn’t planning on signing with a team until the season began, but was convinced to join up with the Dolphins back in the spring because of Mike McDaniel and his offensive system.
Miami Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Finally Practices
Four weeks into his first (and probably only) season with the Dolphins, that McDaniel scheme is under attack like never before.
And while he tried to temper expectations about the impact he can have to improve things here — possibly beginning Sunday in New England — Beckham certainly believes he can help turn things around.
But first, he needs to get into football shape. That was apparent to him Thursday when Beckham participated in his first full-speed practice in nine months — and first with the Dolphins.
“I felt pretty good,” Beckham said in the locker room Thursday. “The old guy can still run. I felt good. I think I feel obviously a bit out of football shape, but just like everything else, it comes with repetition.
“So just being able to get out there and run around, I don’t think people understand how much of a joy that is to be able to not even stretch and I can go out there and just take off running. You know, it’s been a long journey with me and my career. So getting able to get out there has been great.”
That long journey has included what Beckham called “a shattered ankle,” two ACL surgeries, and most recently, the arthroscopic procedure this offseason.
Beckham explained in detail Thursday why it’s gotten him so long to get back on the field, and had some words for the haters who think he’s sandbagged the process in a cash grab.
Beckham’s Timeline Explained
“[After last] season, there was a lot going on in my life, personal life, businesses, all of that, that just kind of had me in a place where football wasn’t exactly a priority,” Beckham said. “[I have a] son who’s two years old, you know, don’t got much time to spend with him. I feel like he’s going up fast and I’m not having that much time. So football wasn’t exactly the first and foremost thing on my mind.
“Then I had to have a small clean up of the knee and just kind of going through that free agency process. You know, my agent and I went back and forth, whether we do it right after the season or we wait until free agency happens and I just feel like I waited too late.”
Beckham insisted none of this was a surprise to the Dolphins when they signed him, and that McDaniel assured him that it would be fine if Beckham wasn’t ready for the opener.
When it became clear late in the summer that he would not be able to play in Week 1, the team decided to shut him down for the first four games by keeping him on PUP. That was hard, Beckham said, who joked that he didn’t come here to eat the cafeteria food and sit in meetings.
According to Odell Beckham, the Dolphins knew he wouldn’t be ready for the season. Him going on PUP was a selfless act and he could be doing anything else in the world. “I chose to play football.” pic.twitter.com/KJ63bD5URV
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 3, 2024
All the while, the Dolphins have struggled, and some fans on social media have made assumptions about Beckham’s desire to play without knowing the facts.
“Respectfully, it sounds messed up, so it’s gonna be a bad quote, but I’m not getting paid like a crazy amount of dollars,” said Beckham, who has just $2.1 million in guaranteed salary this year.
“I could be making money if I had more time, elsewhere outside of this building. A lot of my contract is incentives based. So that means I have to be certain numbers to be able to get that money. So for me, respectfully, I don’t really care for [their] opinion. I care for my son, I care for my close family.
“I’ve grown so far past that because, at the end of the day, you could be the most perfect person in the world, say the most perfect quotes and all that. There’s still somebody out there who gonna hate on you. So there’s no point in getting yourself caught up over that.”
“I said the quote, Purell hand sanitizer cleans 99.9% the germs. There’s always still gonna be that little something [left], you know what I mean? So it’s just like there’s just no point in worrying about someone’s opinion and all like you.
“I’ll never see some of you all in my life again. You have an account with zero posts and 89 followers and whatever. Like congrats, enjoy your life. I’m gonna enjoy mine, I’m so far past someone’s opinion of me. I know who I am. I always say I know where I live so I never need to address anything.”
Soon, he’ll be able to silence those haters with his play. But it might not be this week. The Dolphins have one more game before the bye, and could decide to give him three more weeks to get in game shape as opposed to throwing him on the field and risk another injury.
“Odell’s looked great, you know, just in some of the routes on air and different things like that,” said Dolphins receivers coach Wes Welker. “I mean, he looks like the Odell that we’ve seen. So, you know, very excited to get him out there, get him moving around, getting him in chemistry with all the guys in the room and with the quarterbacks and, you know, just continue to work the process and really just see how he looks out there in practice. But all indications look like he’s looking really good.”
Added Beckham: “I am just excited to get back out there. Whenever that is, you know, it’s coming up with a game plan. Ease me back into it a little bit and then, let’s just play ball like it’s time. It’s a long season. No need to get down. You play as long as I’ve played, you know, these seasons can go however which way you want.”