BEREA, Ohio — With his future with the Cleveland Browns in question, Odell Beckham Jr. will remain sidelined. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the Browns have excused their star wide receiver from practice for a second consecutive day.
Beckham's second excused absence in as many days makes it increasingly likely that the three-time Pro Bowl receiver won't play in Cleveland's Week 9 matchup vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. It also appears that Beckham has likely played his final game with the Browns, with head coach Kevin Stefanski revealing on Wednesday that Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry was having discussions with the LSU product's representatives about the 28-year-old receiver's future.
Asked about a report that he had told the rest of his roster that Beckham was no longer a part of the team, Stefanski said: "Today he's excused and we'll see where this goes."
The Browns' decision to keep Beckham home from practice on Wednesday came one day after his father, Odell Beckham Sr., posted an 11-minute and 24-second long video clip of quarterback Baker Mayfield missing his son on various throws throughout the 2021 season to his verified Instagram account. The older Beckham also wasn't shy to reply to comments on his post, agreeing with criticisms of Mayfield on multiple occasions.
Asked about the matter on Wednesday, Mayfield admitted to being caught off guard by the video.
"Hurt? No. Surprised? Yes," Mayfield said.
Asked if he wants Beckham back with the Browns, Mayfield replied: "I would take anything to have a winning team right now. Our focus needs to be on winning. Anything like this, stuff created on the outside drama-wise, takes away from the focus, attention to detail that we need to have."