Odell Beckham Jr. is not finding his form after his serious injury. But is that his fault or are the Cleveland Browns just not able to play him well?

Munich/Cleveland – It seemed like the perfect trade when the Cleveland Browns signed Odell Beckham Jr. in March 2019.

Of all things, the flamboyant wide receiver, who became a world star with his one-handed catches, moved to a previously completely unsuccessful team and was supposed to help turn things around.

Almost 32 months later, however, it can be said: To date, the pass receiver has never really arrived in Cleveland.

Only in the 2019 season did he flash his potential with 1035 receiving yards and four touchdowns. “OBJ” wasn’t as effective as he was with the New York Giants, but he was the Browns’ second-best pass receiver behind Jarvis Landry.

Between injury woes and slump in form

While the Browns went uphill athletically after that and the franchise qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2002 season, Beckham regressed more.

The big problem: injuries.

Last season, he tore his ACL in Week 7. Until then, the extroverted star had been only partially convincing with 319 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The consequences of the injury dragged on into the current season, so that he only made his debut in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears.

In his six appearances so far, the pass receiver, who celebrates his 29th birthday on Friday, has only managed 232 yards. He is still waiting for his first touchdown.

This interim record is too little for a player who will still be paid around 15 million dollars a year until the 2023 season.

Last Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the low point. He was only thrown at once – for a gain of six yards. Almost as if “OBJ” was a foreign body in the Browns’ game. Yet he was on the field for 43 snaps. This corresponds to a share of 73 percent of all offensive plays;

So what’s going wrong with the relationship between Beckham and the Browns?

Head Coach Stefanski: “I have to do a better job “

“First and foremost, I have to do a better job,” head coach Kevin Stefanski told cleveland.com the day after the game. “I have to put him in position to make good plays. I didn’t do that enough.”

Nevertheless, Beckham would still have value for the team: “He gets a lot of attention from the defence. There were some defenders who fell for him. That created more opportunities for the other guys.”

But Beckham is not the type of player who simply puts himself at the service of the team. In fact, he is the highlight tape man. He is the one who makes the fans’ hearts beat faster and makes the headlines.

The three-time Pro Bowler still does the latter. But rather in a negative sense.

The rumours about a possible trade did not come true. For Jim Donovan, known as the voice of the “Cleveland Browns Radio Network”, this came as no surprise: “I really don’t know if there’s even a market for him right now.”

Stefanski, on the other hand, continues to believe Beckham is a difference maker with his individual quality, “Based on what I see from him every week, I know he can impact games. “

Beckham’s father criticises quarterback Mayfield

Quarterback Baker Mayfield echoes the same sentiment: “We’ve got to find ways to get the ball in his hands more often.”

Nevertheless, it is noticeable that Mayfield often does not throw to Beckham even when the latter is in a good position.

This also annoys the wide receiver’s private environment.

Father Odell Beckham Senior shared an eleven-minute video from another user showing Beckham either being poorly thrown to or overlooked.

The father immediately agreed with one user’s comment that Mayfield “either hates Beckham or just doesn’t want him to shine” with three hooks.  

The father of Browns Odell Beckham Jr. posted an 11 minute video on Instagram today. The video showed multiple times that QB Baker Mayfield missed Odell Beckham Jr. Was also active in comments. pic.twitter.com/oFbJl4ExA9

– Brad Stainbrook (@BrownsByBrad) November 2, 2021

The criticized quarterback explains his play this way, “We have a talented group of players and I have to go through the reads. But we have to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands so he gets momentum early.”

This is apparently what everyone who has lost their heart to the Cleveland Browns is hoping.

Basketball icon LeBron James, who grew up around Cleveland and was an NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, speaks encouragement to the star receiver via Twitter: “He’ll show why he’s special again soon. Number 1 wide receiver.”

OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 FreeOBJ

– LeBron James (@KingJames) November 2, 2021

The only question is: when?