A second cruciate ligament tear overshadowed the career renaissance of Odell Beckham Jr. A curious tweet from the star receiver is now causing a stir: Did the 29-year-old play with an injury in the past season?

Munich – A good two months before the start of the new NFL season Odell Beckham Jr. is still a free agent.

The star receiver, who won the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams last February, is still recovering from a torn cruciate ligament and continues to wait for a new contract with one of the 32 teams.

The injury, which the veteran suffered in the most important game of the year of all things, is now suddenly on everyone’s lips again: A tweet could put the 29-year-old, but also the Los Angeles Rams, in distress.

Odell Beckham Jr: Did star receiver play hurt?

“Crazy thought: I played the second half of the season without a cruciate ligament – and won a Super Bowl,” the receiver wrote on Twitter.

Krazy thought … really played the whole back half of the season without an acl, and won a super bowl! God doesn’t misss, i swea

– Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) July 3, 2022

Curious though Beckham’s statement may be, the pass receiver first tore the ACL in his left knee during the 2020 season, and after surgery, the multiple Pro Bowler returned to the field for the new season.

After disagreements, he was released by the Cleveland Browns in November 2021 and signed with Los Angeles soon after. After almost 700 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, the 29-year-old tore his left cruciate ligament again in the Super Bowl.

Odell Beckham Jr: NFL rules could become a problem

Now the question is how it can even be possible for an apparently injured player to play eight games in the regular season and four in the postseason with only one ACL – and how that fact, if it actually occurred, can be reconciled with strict NFL rules.

Teams must regularly report a player’s injury or face hefty fines.

In the end, it is the franchises’ doctors who have the final say on a player’s fitness to play.

Star players in particular like to grit their teeth when it comes to “minor” injuries: Tom Brady, for example, played with a ligament injury in 2020 and won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Odell Beckham Jr: Cruciate ligament was probably never fully healthy

Believing the statements of NFL insider Ian Rapoport, there is at least a shred of truth to the story. “When Odell tore his ACL with the Browns, he had it repaired. It didn’t sound at the time like the surgery went the way everyone hoped it would,” Rapoport described on the “Pat McAfee Show” last April.

The knee “wasn’t 100 percent healthy,” Rapoport said, which is probably why the Rams opted not to sign Beckham to a long-term contract.

“All of a sudden he tears his ACL again and in a crazy twist, everybody’s a little relieved because now he can get it fixed properly,” Rapoport explained, “The surgery went very well and he can probably extend his career some more – all because of the recent surgery.”

After his first Super Bowl win, the 29-year-old will be keen to confirm his strong finish to the season.

His renaissance in a Rams jersey in particular is likely to have made an impression on many teams, but there is no specific interest in Beckham being rumoured at the moment.

With a healthy knee, the receiver should quickly find his way back to his old strength – assuming the NFL doesn’t still have something to object to.