Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2020 NFL season, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Monday morning.
The 27-year-old suffered the injury during Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals while trying to chase down defensive back Darius Phillips, who intercepted Baker Mayfield’s pass early in the first quarter.
After awkwardly planting his foot to change direction, Beckham collided with Browns teammate Andy Janovich, who was attempting to tackle Phillips on the return.
“I’d be lying to say that I was not beating myself up about it,” Mayfield said after the game. “To go into halftime and see him, and I told him I love him, and he said, ‘Go be great.’ That was what he left me with to open up the second half. That was something I continued to remember throughout the second half.”
Beckham underwent an MRI on Monday morning before confirming the results with Anderson.
It’s another stroke of bad luck for the former New York Giants star receiver, who missed 12 games in 2017 because of an ankle injury before missing four more the following season due to a litany of issues.
He was enjoying a strong start to his second season with the Browns after being traded from the Giants prior to the 2019 season, reeling in 23 catches for 319 yards and three touchdowns in six-plus games of work.
This after constant trade rumors suggesting the LSU product wanted out of Cleveland died down in recent weeks — once providing false hope for teams like the Philadelphia Eagles to try and snag him before the November deadline.
Now without Beckham, the 5-2 Browns will have to rely even more on Jarvis Landry to carry the wide-receiving group while Donovan Peoples-Jones — who caught the game-winning touchdown in Week 7 — and Rashard Higgins will see an uptick in targets.
