BEREA, Ohio — Other than his annual youth camp in late-July, it had been nearly a year since Odell Beckham Jr. spoke with members of the media.
On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns wide receiver did just that, holding his first press availability since the start of the team's training camp. And while that would seem to indicate that Beckham is prepared to make his 2021 season debut on Sunday when the Browns host the Chicago Bears, he wasn't willing to go that far -- although he also didn't rule it out.
"We'll see," Beckham said with a smile and a shrug.
Should Beckham play against the Bears, it would mark his first game since suffering a torn ACL in the first quarter of Cleveland's Week 7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last season on Oct. 25. While the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver participated in the Browns' training camp, he did so on a limited basis and was ultimately inactive for Cleveland's first two contests of the 2021 campaign.
While Beckham's absence from the Browns' first two games this season surprised some, it also fell in line with his recovery plan. On Thursday, the LSU product said that he had targeted an 11-month recovery -- which would put him right in line with a return to the field on Sunday.
"I started to progress faster and faster," Beckham said. "I'm just following God's plan. He put me in a good place to be here right now. It's just a day-by-day process."
This week also marked the first time since the start of camp that Beckham has been "full go" in practice, a key component to his on-field preparations. Like Beckham, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski isn't ready to officially declare that his star wide receiver will play against Chicago, although at this point, all signs seem to indicate he'll do just that.
“The plan is to practice Wednesday and see how it goes this week," Stefanski said on Wednesday. "But I am not ruling him out.”
Locked On Browns:
On the latest Locked On Browns podcast, host Jeff Lloyd previews the Browns' upcoming matchup vs. the Chicago Bears.