Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr. Is Not Sitting Out The 2020 NFL Season

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal released a story quoting Cleveland Browns star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. as saying “I just feel like the season shouldn’t happen.”

“We’re not ready for football season,” Beckham told the Journal. “So why are we trying to push forward? It’s obviously for their money. And that bothers me because there’s always been this — and I hate saying it like that — but the owners’ [attitude is], ‘Oh we own you guys,’ and just kind of that unfairness going on that they don’t see us as human. I just feel like the season shouldn’t happen and I’m prepared for it to not happen and I wouldn’t mind not having it.”

The quotes, understably, drew headlines because a) it’s Beckham Jr. and b) it was perhaps the highest profile player to date signaling that they might opt out of the 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. Considering the health risks both known and unknown, it would have been an understandable decision.

One problem: Per cleveland.com, Beckham Jr. did the interview two weeks ago before he was fully aware of how safe the Browns’ facility Berea would be based on the team’s safety plans. The Journal article also includes an editor’s note noting the interview took place before the NFL and NFLPA agreed to terms that, knock on wood, will keep players as safe as possible as the season tries to happen.

Publicly, the Browns are optimistic about their plan.

“I am optimistic,’’ head coach Kevin Stefanski said last week. “I believe in this bubble. You may say that we are not a bubble; I feel like I am in a bubble. Wearing a mask everywhere, staying away from everybody and here is my Kinexon, which blinks red when I am within six feet of people, it certainly feels that way.

“Then we just have to make sure with that shared responsibility as you leave this bubble that you maintain and you follow the protocols. I feel very confident in the plan that was put together jointly with the NFL and the NFLPA. Now, it is just a matter of us adhering to the protocols.”

Beckham Jr. also isn’t the only Brown to share concerns about working conditions for players, as center and NFLPA president J.C. Tretter shared similar sentiments over the past several weeks.

On Monday afternoon, the Browns’ Twitter account also posted a picture of Beckham Jr. working out in Berea with a mask on.

Per cleveland.com, he reported last Tuesday on time and has been a “full participant” in testing.

So far, only two Browns — guard Drew Forbes and offensive tackle Drake Dorbeck — have opted out of the season. Punter Jamie Gillan was on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive, but has been activated.

Backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert, however, has been placed on the list after testing positive. Per cleveland.com, he is asymptomatic and comes after he tested negative three times between July 24 and July 27 before workouts started on July 28.