After the Miami Dolphins dropped their preseason finale versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 14-24 on Friday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel gave an update on wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who didn’t play in any of Miami’s three preseason games and has yet to even practice with the team.
“I’m hopeful about a lot of things,” McDaniel said when asked if he’s optimistic about Beckham practicing with Miami before the start of the season. “Again, I’m not nervous about it. You hope, but you have to listen to people’s bodies and be very communicative. I know he’s feeling very optimistic about how things are developing, but you just take one day at a time. And like I said before, I’m not in a position of nervousness because of the way that he’s been involved. He’s found a way to be a leader of sorts without playing. That’s tough to do, but his mindset’s right, and so I feel good about that.”
Earlier this month, Beckham responded to a hater questioning his injury status on the social media platform X. It’s still unclear as to what injury Beckham is dealing with at this time.
Lowkey be sooo curious why tf people be so curious about me. Been chillin out the way workin in the dark, and our world still finds a way to just neeed Shxt to get clicks on
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) August 14, 2024
Low-key. We been used before. We been wanting answers and been in the dark
— Keith mcclendon (@KeithMcclendo55) August 14, 2024
Oh nice! Yea I think just keep posting bs for clicks and it should definitely make the answers appear ? Anyways everybody over here kno what’s goin on( the team and ppl in this building) time will tell what and how the rest of the story goes. Thanks for ur concerns
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) August 14, 2024
The Dolphins signed Beckham to a one-year deal worth up to $8.25 million, and at least one former NFL star is seemingly a fan of the move from Miami’s perspective. Chad Johnson told Shannon Sharpe in May that he believes Beckham will rack up 1,000 receiving yards in his first season playing alongside one of the better signal-callers in the league today in Tua Tagovailoa.
“Odell, Tyreek [Hill] and Jaylen Waddle will all have 1,000 yards,” Johnson said during a conversation with Sharpe. “I bet you Odell (will) have 1,000 yards this season.”
There’s a real argument to be made that Beckham’s most productive days in the NFL are already behind him. He will turn 32 years old in the month of November, and he hasn’t totaled 1,000-plus receiving yards in a single season since all the way back in the 2019 campaign, when he was a member of the Cleveland Browns.
Although, Beckham still produced with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2023 regular season after not playing a single game in the 2022 campaign. He started in six of the 14 games he appeared in for a Baltimore team that finished with the NFL’s best record and totaled 565 receiving yards, 27 first downs receiving and three receiving touchdowns on 35 receptions.
The former Louisiana State University standout appeared in two playoff games for the Ravens as well, but he accumulated only 34 yards during that span, and Baltimore’s quest for a Super Bowl came to an end against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Fans of the Dolphins should be rooting for Beckham to take the field with the team when it plays the Jacksonville Jaguars to kick off the 2024 regular season next month.
