Odell Beckham Jr. will begin the 2024 season on the Miami Dolphins’ PUP list, but it wasn’t by his choice.
According to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, the veteran receiver felt he was ready to join the active roster. It was Miami brass that decided Beckham would be better off staying on the PUP list a bit longer.
“We were very hopeful that [his return] would be around Week 1 here, and to be honest with you guys, we put him down [on PUP],” Grier told reporters Wednesday. “He did not want to go down. He feels 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 the long play. We didn’t want him to rush back, feeling that he had to rush back and then something happens and sets us back. So this was Mike [McDaniel] and I sitting down and talking with the trainers and deciding what was best for him long haul to help us here win games.”
Beckham, 31, joined the Dolphins in the offseason on a one-year, incentives-laden deal, but has yet to practice with the team as he recovers from an undisclosed procedure. The Dolphins haven’t revealed the nature of the injury that has kept him out, but were reportedly aware when they signed him that Week 1 was in doubt.
The three-time Pro Bowler spent the 2023 season with the Baltimore Ravens after missing all of 2022 due to an ACL tear suffered in Super Bowl LVI. In his only season with Baltimore, Beckham finished with 35 receptions, 565 yards, and three touchdowns. He added another four receptions for 34 yards in the postseason.
Beckham will have to miss at least four games before he can be activated from the PUP list and make his Dolphins debut.
