The Cleveland Browns having been missing a huge piece in their offense, but they may just be a better team without him.
Odell Beckham Jr. was traded to the Browns back in 2019 and it hasn’t been all that good for him in Cleveland. Beckham did not quite play up to the high expectations set his first season and has yet to suit up this season — out since November of 2020 as he recovers from a torn ACL.
As Peter King’s Football Mornings in America Week 2 article noted, the Browns are a better team when Odell is not on the field.
This is the Browns record since opening day of the 2019 season with and without Beckham active:
With Beckham playing: Cleveland is 11-12 and averages 21.65 points per game.
Without Beckham playing: Cleveland is 8-5 and averages 25.62 points per game.
To sum it up, when Odell is on the field, the Browns are a .500 football team; when he isn’t, the Browns are a winning team and average more points per game too.
Listen to Cleveland sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Browns team gear
The expectation for Odell was that he would start in Week 1 vs the Kansas City Chiefs, but during pre-game warmups he decided he couldn’t go and was listed as inactive. Kevin Stefanski spoke to the media after the game on why Odell wasn’t active.
"He worked out before the game and didn’t feel like he could go a significant amount, so we felt like it was the right thing to do to keep him inactive,” Stefanski said. “We had four wide receivers up.”
The same thing went for Week 2 against the Houston Texans. They didn’t miss Odell that much as the Browns cruised to a 31-21 win over Houston with multiple receivers contributing to the winning effort.
Heading into Week 3, the question that fans must ask is, will Odell play against the Chicago Bears at home?
Beckham could be needed as his former LSU teammate and friend Jarvis Landry has sprained his MCL and could be out from 3-4 weeks.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
