Odell Beckham Jr. was unsurprisingly among the most notable absences on Wednesday at Cleveland Browns OTAs, meaning the wide receiver has attended only one of the first five such voluntary sessions, which occurred last Tuesday.
There are five OTAs remaining on the Browns’ 10-session schedule, reports Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, with that portion of the Browns’ offseason program ending next week.
Along with skipping out on a majority of the OTAs thus far, Beckham also declined to attend a three-day minicamp the NFL allows new coaches, which is the case this offseason with the Browns and Freddie Kitchens.
The Browns have little recourse concerning Beckham’s ongoing absences given the voluntary nature of organized team activities. Browns management and staff — not to mention Baker Mayfield — continue to toe the company line regarding Beckham by stating regret over his no-shows but at the same time downplaying the situation as it stands.
Kitchens continued that narrative last week, stating he “never disputed the fact that it is not important for him to be here, but it is also also important for him to be mentally ready to be here.” The first-year head coach added, however, that he’s not giving Beckham “an out by any stretch of imagination” over his absences.
It’s unclear at this point whether Beckham will attend a mandatory three-day minicamp in early June, though it’s assumed the Browns fully expect him to do so. There has been no indication that Beckham will put the Browns in such an uncomfortable position by avoiding mandatory offseason sessions.
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