CLEVELAND — Despite concerns regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski still expects that players will be reporting on time for training camp next month. And when they do, Stefanski says that star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will be at full strength after undergoing core muscle surgery to repair a sports hernia injury in January.
"Odell's free and clear. He's 100 percent," Stefanski said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. "He's looking really good."
Beckham being at full strength bodes well for his attempt to bounce back from a disappointing first season in Cleveland, in which he produced his lowest stat totals aside from a 2017 campaign in which he played in just four games. Appearing in all 16 of the Browns' games last year, the 3-time Pro Bowl selection caught 74 passes for 1,035 yards and 4 touchdowns as Cleveland fell well short of its lofty preseason expectations with a 6-10 record.
Despite appearing in all 16 games, Beckham revealed late in the season that he had suffered a sports hernia injury that had hampered his play and availability in practice. In a video posted to his YouTube channel in May, the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year opened up about the injury and proclaimed that 2020 "is probably going to be one of my best seasons."
"I was training in June and July, and I was kind of just feeling stuff around the groin area, abs and stuff like that," Beckham said. "I went through training, went through training and I get to August and the third week of training camp, I tear a little piece of my abs. So before the season, I kind of had the hernia thing going on. Sports hernia is what they call it. End up at the end of the season, torn abductor, torn rectus abdominis on the right. So pretty much, I was just f---ed up the whole year. I really didn't try and say anything about it.
"Probably one of the worst surgeries I've ever had. Recovery's going well. Guess I'm really just trying to put my body back together."
As for Beckham's close friend and teammate, Jarvis Landry, Stefanski said that while the 5-time Pro Bowl selection is on a different timeline, his recovery is also going well. In February, Landry underwent surgery to repair a hip injury suffered at some point during the 2020 campaign.
"Jarvis, to his credit, he's looking great," Stefanski said. "Some of the videos I've seen of him moving around. So we'll have a plan for them."
You can watch the entire interview with Kevin Stefanski below.