Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. caught five passes for 77 yards on Sunday, but he didn’t feel quite right.
Beckham, playing for the first time since a torn ACL cut short his 2020 season, said after the game that his legs aren’t quite ready for NFL action.
“The first time in a very long time, a lot of emotions, a lot of things running through you as you’re back out in the stadium,” Beckham said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “It’s still the dream to be in the NFL and play in this game, so it was a lot to take in today. It just felt like I could never get my legs going. It’s just exhausting. But we came out with a W, and that’s all that matters.”
Beckham said he was glad to take an early hit from Bears linebacker Roquan Smith.
“Needed it. Just needed it,” Beckham said. “Actually, first hit came on a pass that I didn’t catch. Shoulder popped out, and I was like, ‘All right, of course, something like that would happen.’ It was good to feel that and get back into it, and then the game went on and it was a little bit smoother.”
Beckham added that he and Baker Mayfield are already on the same page.
“We hit a couple throws — things I could definitely work on,” Beckham said. “For the first game back, I feel like I could never get my legs underneath me, so it was definitely a tough game, but I got my feet wet, glad to get that one out the way.”
The Browns still don’t have a fully healthy receiving corps with Jarvis Landry out, but the return of Beckham was a promising step, even if he still has some work to do.
