The NFL regular season is 48 hours away, which means football fans and fantasy managers are paying extra close attention to various injuries around the league. What’s the latest on Miami Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s injury?
The Latest on Odell Beckham Jr.’s Health
No one really knows what type of injury Beckham is dealing with. He had an unspecific procedure over the offseason that the Dolphins knew about when they signed him. He hasn’t practiced this summer and will be out for at least four games on PUP.
“There’s not a scenario where he’s going to just jump out there with a cape on without practicing at all,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think for me, it’s like every other player; you make sure that they progress, and you get them back on the field as fast as their body allows them to, and then you allow the comfort level of the player to dictate when he plays.”
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Miami only used three-WR sets on 43.6% of its plays in 2023, the third-lowest rate in the league. When they do deploy 11 personnel, Braxton Berrios and sixth-round rookie Malik Washington look like the club’s best candidates to fill OBJ’s shoes.
Odell Beckham Jr.’s Fantasy Outlook
At this stage of Beckham’s career, he’s no longer fantasy-relevant. The only way he ends up on a fantasy manager’s roster is based on name recognition alone.
Don’t expect much in terms of fantasy contributions from the 31-year-old, as he has dealt with a number of lower-body injuries in recent years and it doesn’t seem like he has anything left in the tank.
Recently, Dolphins teammate Tyreek Hill told reporters that he hasn’t seen Beckham in the facility since Miami placed him on the PUP list — a decision that Beckham objected — so it seems there may be some behind-the-scenes drama as well.
Even if Beckham was healthy and ready to play for Week 1, we wouldn’t be recommending him as an option in fantasy drafts. Even though the Dolphins don’t have a clearcut WR3 behind Hill and Jaylen Waddle, there’s no scenario where OBJ has significant fantasy value during the 2024 season.
Beckham has yet to practice with the Dolphins since signing with the team. NFL teams aren’t required to share injury details until the start of the regular season, so the Dolphins haven’t disclosed anything about Beckham’s injury at this point. We’ll know more once the season starts. But either way, Beckham should be on your do-not-draft list.