The Dolphins have waited months for their hopeful No. 3 wide receiver to practice. Although the team has a bigger-picture matter plaguing its offense, Odell Beckham Jr. is trending toward a workout with teammates soon.
Out with an unspecified injury for months, Beckham is now off the Dolphins’ reserve/PUP list. The team did not practice on Wednesday, but Beckham was listed as a full estimated participant. The Dolphins now have three weeks to activate OBJ. If Miami does not activate Beckham by then, he will miss the season. However, it seems unlikely that scenario will occur based on Wednesday's development.
With players on the active roster or in a return window from an injured list needing a health designation, per injury reporting rules, the Dolphins listed Beckham as having a knee injury. The veteran wide receiver underwent what had been an unspecified procedure this offseason; it now appears that was knee surgery.
It is certainly notable that a knee problem affected Beckham following his Dolphins signing (one year, $3M), as he has suffered two torn ACLs in the 2020s — the second of which kept him out for the 2022 season. The former Pro Bowler did return and play in 14 regular-season games and both Ravens playoff contests last season, quieting concerns after a lengthy absence following Super Bowl LVI. But this will be a situation to monitor for the Dolphins, who are amid a quarterback crisis.
While Beckham appears set to join Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in a game soon, the Dolphins have seen their offense crater without Tua Tagovailoa. Skylar Thompson and emergency pickup-turned-starter Tyler Huntley have struggled since Tagovailoa’s concussion. Although the Dolphins have received good news on their fifth-year starter, they will still need to play at least two more games without him. Tagovailoa is trending toward returning in Week 8, when first eligible to come off IR. Huntley will start in Week 5, Mike McDaniel confirmed.
As for Beckham, he posted 565 receiving yards (career-high 16.1 per catch) and three touchdowns with Baltimore. The Ravens let him walk in free agency, leading to this Dolphins opportunity. McDaniel stopped short of saying Beckham will be activated for Week 5 (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson), but the third-year Miami HC said the free agency addition had not sustained any setbacks en route to a Dolphins debut. An estimated full practice Wednesday is a good sign for a team in need of them right now.
