Odell Beckham Jr. will miss the first four games of the Miami Dolphins‘ season.
The former Pro Bowl wide receiver will start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and cannot play in a game until the Dolphins visit the New England Patriots on Oct. 6.
Miami Dolphins Make Roster Designation for WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham is still recovering from an unspecified offseason procedure that had put his availability for the opener in doubt for months, as NFL Network first reported.
Beckham has been dedicated to his rehab efforts with the goal of getting back on the field in time for the Dolphins’ opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He simply ran out of time.
The now-compressed timeline to get Beckham up to speed in time for Sept. 8 was too big of a challenge to overcome.
Even if he was available to practice Wednesday — which from the outside seems highly unlikely — he would have had to get back into football shape and develop timing with Tua Tagovailoa in 11 days.
“There’s not a scenario where he’s going to just jump out there with a cape on without practicing at all,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of Beckham Monday.
“I think for me, it’s like every other player; you make sure that they progress and you get them back on the field as fast as their body allows them to, and then you allow the comfort level of the player to dictate when he plays.
“So are we going to play football with Tua and Odell being uncomfortable with their connectivity in a real game? Absolutely not. So the measures that we’ll take, we’re trying to make sure that, when he’s on the field, that he’s done absolutely everything to minimize how long it takes for him to be live action.
“So it’s just step by step, and you can rest assured there won’t be discomfort in Miami Gardens, [Fla.,] when we’re playing in the stadium at Hard Rock or anywhere else.”
Beckham has not practiced since signing with the team in May. When training camp began, Beckham sent signals that he thought his return to action was close.
But with each passing week, it became more and more clear that his body was not responding fast enough. While the exact nature of Beckham’s latest injury is unclear, it’s important to remember that he’s twice undergone surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee.
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The Dolphins are more concerned about having Beckham available for late in the season than early.
Beckham missed the entire 2022 season after the second of two injuries but did catch 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.
Beckham’s roster designation certainly complicates matters for the Dolphins at wide receiver. River Cracraft is expected to be out for a significant amount of time, and both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are dealing with minor injuries.
Braxton Berrios and Malik Washington are expected to play larger-than-anticipated roles early in the season, and don’t be surprised if the Dolphins add to the position through the waiver wire in the next 24 hours.
Also, the Dolphins all along had expected a lot in the passing game out of running back De’Von Achane and tight end Jonnu Smith. Expect plenty of targets for both, particularly early on.