For the first time in his career, Odell Beckham Jr is a free agent. Before game day nine, the Cleveland Browns parted ways with their wide receiver. But how did it come to this? Has “OBJ” really degraded so much that he should be cut? ran takes a look at the past.

Munich/Cleveland – “It’s an unsatisfactory and unfortunate situation for everyone involved.” Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said at a pregame press conference against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Earlier, he had told Odell Beckham Jr. that he would no longer be part of the team. Just days later, the Browns would officially release him.

On Monday of that same week, Coach Stefanski was still talking about how to better integrate Beckham into the offense: “I’ve got to try to get him in better positions to make plays.”

So something internal to the team must have happened in those few days, or it’s unlikely this radical change of heart would have occurred.

Stats in Cleveland weren’t good – but they weren’t bad either

Overall, “OBJ” was probably only partially satisfied that his fellow receivers Jarvis Landry and Donavan Peoples-Jones, for example, sometimes had better statistics – and probably said so internally.

His stats won’t have been the reason why the Browns sent him out the door, if anything it will have been his allegedly difficult character and his injuries. In 2020, he played in only seven games due to a torn ACL, and the receiver also missed two games this season with an injury.

But 2019? In his first Browns season, Beckham showed what could be expected of him. 14 yards per catch, the longest catch for 89 yards, 19 plays over 20 yards and 1,035 total receiving yards.

Granted, only four touchdowns, but still, those are stats most receivers can only dream of. And this was by far Beckham’s worst full season.

The OBJ from New York is a superstar – and rightfully so

In 2021, it’s easy to forget what an incredible receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was during his time with the New York Giants. That’s evident just by looking at the numbers: In every season that Beckham played more than half the games in New York, he broke the 1,000-yard sound barrier.

From 2014 to 2019, he managed to do that consistently, with the exception of 2017. And in 2017, “OBJ” only failed to do so because he was only able to make four plays due to injury. His achievements in that season extrapolated to 16 games: 100 catches, 1,212 yards and twelve touchdowns. At the end of his time with the New York Giants, he scored a total of 46 touchdowns in 59 games.

If you show these almost absurd statistics to a football connoisseur without identifying the name, there can be no two opinions: These are stats from an absolute top receiver in the NFL.

Odell Beckham Jr: More than just numbers

But beyond the numbers, “OBJ”‘s style of play is also synonymous with explosiveness, agility and, of course, his spectacular one-handed catch. While this was rarely seen in the NFL before, now even quarterbacks are starting to pick the ball out of the air with one arm. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones showed this in week seven against the Carolina Panthers.

Yet just quoting “NBC” commentators Al Michaels and former receiver Cris Collinsworth on Beckham’s most famous catch is enough to document Beckham’s amazing talent: “Did he catch that? How in the world? He’s amazing, how do you catch that ball! That could be the best catch I’ve ever seen! That’s absolutely impossible. “

2014: HBD to @obj who turns 29. Well, this will be a birthday he will never forget so we will remember the play that put him on the map w/ NYGiants His 1 handed TD catch while being fouled on SNF v Dallas which Collinsworth noted was the best catch he’d ever seen TogetherBlue pic.twitter.com/NoNWzOo0Q2

– BigBlueVCR (@BigBlueVCR) November 6, 2021

“OBJ” left two of the most experienced commentators in the business wondering and struggling for words.

Besides those circus catches, of which he showed a few more over the years, his “Quick Slant” was feared in the league. That is, a passing route where after two steps he moves inside and catches the ball over the middle. Beckham did it with such incredible speed that he was virtually unstoppable and often enough went through for a touchdown, even though the play is only designed for about a dozen yards.

Injury misfortune has overcome Beckham before

Clearly, speed and agility diminish with age. Still, “OBJ” has fought his way back from a serious injury before. In 2017, he broke his ankle and later even told us that he thought about ending his career while rehabbing.

However, he came back and played like he never left. Despite an Eli Manning who was already in the winter of his career and nowhere near the accuracy of his earlier days, Beckham scored 1,171 total yards and eight touchdowns in just twelve games.

We’re not talking about an old man here either. In early November, the NFL’s most famous number 13 turned just 29.

Problems off the field?

There have always been reports that Beckham is not the easiest personality to deal with. In 2016, for example, the Giants went into the playoffs with a record of 11-5, where the Green Bay Packers awaited. Just before the game, Beckham posted a photo on his Twitter account on a boat in Miami. He and some of his colleagues were enjoying themselves there.

Not only did this photo not go down well with fans and the franchise, but the 13:38 loss at Lambeau Field a few days later did not help the superstar’s image. Beckham caught only four of his eleven targets in that game.

There were also reports that “OBJ” had internally criticised his quarterback Manning. This was reportedly joined by claims that the Giants could play more deep balls in general. Similar things, so the story goes in the Cleveland area, Baker Mayfield also had to put up with at the Browns.

The latest entry in Beckham’s record was provided by his father, who shared an eleven-minute video of how often Mayfield overlooked his son, even though he appeared to be open. This, too, probably broke the camel’s back for Browns coach Stefanski and led to his dismissal. Not counting possible internal squabbles.

Is Beckham’s journey in the NFL over yet?

Despite all these problems, Odell Beckham Jr. will find a new team sooner rather than later. In a league where Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon are still in demand, neither his personal quirks nor his injury history will matter; his talent, like the other two mentioned, is far too great for that.

Where the receiver ends up will be something both he and his future employer will have to think twice about.

If, however, a team does get him back to anything close to his old form, that franchise will have gotten an absolute top receiver for very likely small money.

Because that’s exactly what Odell Beckham Jr. was and can still be – given the right team and fitness.