Grier Sheds (Some) Light on Bizarre Beckham Situation

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. will miss at least the first four games of the 2024 season.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) throws the football before the preseason game against the Washington Commanders at Hard Rock Stadium in mid-August. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The situation involving Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. remains somewhat mysterious, even after GM Chris Grier shared some details Wednesday.

The Dolphins placed Beckham on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list when they reduced the roster to 53 players, sidelining him for at least the first four games of the 2024 regular season.

This came after head coach Mike McDaniel said Monday his PUP status still was "to be determined."

The move to put Beckham on PUP should have been considered manageable, considering he never practiced during training camp, nor did he even practice during the offseason program.

After Beckham was placed on PUP, some national reporters began indicating that Beckham underwent some procedure in the offseason, which had not been disclosed before.

Then Grier said Wednesday that the Dolphins knew when they signed Beckham in early May that there was a chance he might not be ready for the start of the regular season, while McDaniel stuck every time he was asked about Beckham to his mandate of not putting timetables on players.

"We were very hopeful that it would be around week one here, and to be honest with you guys, we put him down," Grier said. "He did not want to go down. And he is very close. You guys have seen glimpses of him running around outside, doing stuff. He's very close. But for us, it was a long play. We didn't want him to rush back, feeling that he had to rush back, and then something happened and set us back.

"So this was more Mike and I sitting down talking with (head athletic trainer Kyle Johnston), the trainers, and we just felt what's best for him. long haul to help us here win games is to put them down for a little bit right now."

When asked about the exact nature of Beckham's injury, Grier replied, "Yeah, I appreciate the question. I don't like to talk about people's medical histories publicly."

THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING BECKHAM

By NFL rules, the Dolphins don't have to divulge any injury information until the first Wednesday of the regular season, which will be Sept. 4, when they're required to list all players missing reps or needing treatment, along with their practice participation and the body part injured.

This, however, applies only to players on the active roster, so it could be at least another month before we get any indication of exactly what is wrong with Beckham.

So, the nature of the injury could remain a mystery for a while longer, as could the exact date of his offseason procedure and the question of why the Dolphins signed him in May without knowing whether he'd be ready for the start of the regular season rather than waiting for him to be healthy and ready to go.

Ultimately, it will be fine if Beckham can contribute to the offense at some point during the 2024 season, but until then, this situation remains truly strange.