BEREA, Ohio — Odell Beckham Jr. is getting closer to completing his comeback and finally playing again.
But the star Cleveland Browns wide receiver is not ready to make it official just yet.
“We’ll see,” Beckham said Thursday, when asked if he’ll be making his season debut Sunday against the Chicago Bears. “Taking it [one] day at a time.”
OBJ is working his way back from last year’s season-ending left knee injury, which has forced him to sit out Cleveland’s first two games this season. He suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 25, and was a limited participant throughout training camp and practice for the first two weeks of the season.
But Wednesday, coach Kevin Stefanski said Beckham was “full go” in the practice for the first time.
“Everything going smooth,” Beckham said. “Part of the progression, working my way into it. Everything feeling good. Just taking it day by day.”
The Browns are hoping they will get back one Pro Bowl receiver this weekend after recently losing their other.
On Tuesday, Cleveland placed wideout Jarvis Landry on injured reserve because of an MCL sprain on his left knee, meaning he will miss a minimum of three games. Landry suffered the injury after catching a pass on Cleveland’s first snap Sunday against the Houston Texans.
While these will be the first games Landry has missed in his seven-year career due to injury — though he did sit out a game last year after being deemed a close contact to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 — Beckham has battled injuries ever since arriving in Cleveland after a trade from the New York Giants in 2019.
The first week of training camp two years ago, he suffered a sports hernia injury that limited him in practice throughout the season. While Beckham played through the injury, he had to undergo surgery shortly after the season.
Beckham returned in time for the beginning of the 2020 season, only to suffer the knee injury in Week 7. At that point, Beckham had only 23 receptions for 319 yards, though he did score three touchdowns in a Week 4 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite losing Beckham, the Browns went on to make the postseason for the first time since 2002. Cleveland was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Kansas City, and Beckham admitted he was “definitely itching” to play the Chiefs two weeks ago in the opener before being a late scratch in a game-time decision after warming up.
On Thursday, in his first interview since the start of training camp, Beckham said that he’s in a good place mentally and emotionally. And he’s ready to show he is still one of the league’s premier wideouts, whenever he does return.
“I’m going to be excited,” he said. “I’ve worked extremely hard to not only get back, but improve and be better than I ever have been.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s been a long time. A long time in that cave. … It’s going to be special.”
