Berea, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Odell Beckham Jr. blasted Gregg Williams Thursday, accusing the Jets defensive coordinator of targeting him in a 2017 preseason game while he was with the Browns.
In that preseason game at MetLife Stadium against the Browns, when Williams was the defensive coordinator in Cleveland, Beckham suffered an ankle injury following a low hit by former Browns cornerback Brien Boddy-Calhoun.
“It’s something that I’ll never forget,” Beckham said. “It changed my life forever.”
Beckham understands injuries happen but based on conversations he had surrounding that game, he felt targeted by Williams which to this day angers him.
“In the preseason, nobody in the NFL is out to do stuff like that,” Beckham said. “I had players on this team telling me that’s what he was telling them to do – take me out of the game, and it’s preseason. You just know who he is. That’s the man calling the plays.”
Beckham never fully recovered from that injury, which he feels had a domino effect on him.
“That’s exactly what it did,” Beckham said. “I came back too early. For my team, I gave them all I had even though I knew I was still three weeks out I came back probably three weeks too early just because they lost the first game of the season [that] year and I felt that pressure to be able to come out and there and do what I can to help the team.
“I came back too early on the ankle that if god didn’t bless me the way that I am, I probably would’ve blown my knee in that preseason game if I couldn’t get my foot out of the ground. That high ankle sprain led to the broken ankle on the left, which led to compensation in different areas kinda like a little spiral.”