BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Odell Beckham Jr. feels Baker Mayfield’s pain.
The Browns receiver knows all too well what it’s like to play with a torn labrum.
“I tell you, that s*** hurts, so he’s tough,” Beckham said Thursday. “It doesn’t feel good. There’s days where I woke up that first day after Monday I couldn’t certainly life the arm. You heard that little [pop sound] but it is what it is. We’re gonna go play football. He’s tough. He’s gonna go play.”
Beckham revealed he’s been dealing with the same injury for a decade.
“I’ve had this since college,” Beckham said. “It’s the same thing he’s got. I guess you all found out. I’ve been had it for 10 years now. So I just kind of, it is what it is. I want to go out there and play football, do whatever I gotta do.”
Beckham, who has had extensive ankle surgery in 2017, surgery to repair a core muscle injury following the 2019 season and a torn ACL last November, has chosen to play with it.
“I don’t want to be on the surgery table anymore,” Beckham said. “So, you keep working it. You work the muscles around it, you do all of that and then you just go out and play and forget about it. By the time you get out there you forget about it.”
For Beckham, a three-time Pro Bowler, playing hurt is nothing new.
Same goes for Mayfield who played through a cracked rib last year.
“It’s what you signed up for,” Beckham said. “It’s why I worked hard to come back and I just finally have that love for the game again. So, it’s not really so much of a risk. Any time you step on that field anything could happen. You kind of know when you’re younger what you signed up for, so I don’t look at it that way. But just enjoying the opportunity of being back on the football field. I won’t lie to you.”
Clearing up chemistry – Much has ben made about the missed deep ball from Mayfield to Beckham in the closing 90 seconds at Minnesota Sunday, which had they connected would’ve resulted in an easy touchdown and sealed the victory.
“I think that’s more of a story that’s being created,” Beckham said. “[I] talked to him after the game. Talked to him during the game. Talked to him after meetings. Played [Call of] Duty with him. We chop it up all of the time. I don’t really know if there’s a – that word keeps being thrown around like chemistry as much as just [the] second game back.”
Beckham has caught seven of 16 targets for 104 yards combined in his first two games back from ACL surgery last November.
For all the talk about chemistry between them, Beckham feels the lines of communication continue to be open and they are getting on the same page.
“Anybody who is great and expects greatness out of himself is going to be upset when they miss an opportunity,” Beckham said. “He wants to be great. I want to be great, so yeah, we want perfection. We want the best, but it happens.”
Shorthanded left – With Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa looming Sunday, the Browns left tackle situation is very concerning.
Jedrick Wills Jr. was not on the field once again due to a left ankle injury that continues to linger and Chris Hubbard, who practiced Wednesday, was back on the side Thursday as he continues to recover from a triceps injury.
“It’s something that comes with the entire season,” right tackle Jack Conklin said. “There’s somebody usually playing hurt on the o-line. Other guys have to be able to step up and help him and I think we’ve been doing a good job of that. It’s something we’ve got to keep working on and hopefully we can get him back to full strength soon.”
If neither player can go, Blake Hance would likely be called upon to start or rookie James Hudson III.
Wills has had to leave each of the last three games due to soreness or reaggravations of the injury he first suffered in Week 1 against the Chiefs that saw him carted to the locker room from the sideline in the second quarter.
Hill, Ward expected to play – Cornerbacks Denzel Ward and troy Hill returned to practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday.
Ward rested a neck injury while Hill is dealing with a toe injury.
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods indicated Thursday afternoon that he expected both to play this weekend against the Chargers.
Walker close – Linebacker Anthony Walker, who missed the last three games on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, appears ready to return this week against the Chargers.
“I feel good for the most part,” Walker said.
He returned to practice Wednesday after being designated to return from IR and should he play Sunday, he’ll be on a snap count.
“We are smart about how many reps we try to give those guys when they come back, and we will do that in terms of the game,” Woods, who said Walker was a little winded Wednesday, said. “We will put a number on him, just so in the game with tempo, you are sticking your foot in the ground and the acceleration is a little bit faster, so we will make sure we are careful with that, but in terms of understanding the defense and being the quarterback of the defense, he just fell right back where he was at before he got injured.”
Roster move – The Browns waived defensive end Joe Jackson.
Injury report –DNP: DE Jadeveon Clowney (elbow), DE Takkarist McKinley (ankle/knee), CB Greg Newsome II (calf), TE David Njoku (knee), LB Malcolm Smith (abdomen), C J.C. Tretter (knee/back), LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (ankle), OL Chris Hubbard (triceps); LIMITED: RT Jack Conklin (knee), LB Tony Fields Jr. (shoulder), CB Troy Hill (toe), CB Denzel Ward (neck), DE Myles Garrett (rest/not injury related), DT malik Jackson (rest/not injury related); FULL: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (shoulder)
Up next – Practice Friday.