Odell Beckham's first season with the Cleveland Browns has not gone as well has he (or anyone in the franchise expected), which may lead to a short tenure in Cleveland. Beckham had been playing through a hip injury suffered in training camp that has lingered throughout the first half of the season and has appeared on the injury report with a groin injury that has limited him since.
Beckham's 2019 problems have resulted in a disappointing season on the field, which he has just 57 catches for 805 yards and two touchdowns (14.1 yards per catch). Beckham has just two 100-yard games with Cleveland and his averaging a career-low 67.1 yards per game.
With the Browns at 5-7 and their playoff chances slowly evaporating (even though they still have a shot at the final wild-card spot in the AFC), Beckham is already answering questions on whether he'll be back in Cleveland for another season.
The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver remains noncommittal about his future.
"No one knows what the future holds. I couldn't tell you what's going to happen," Beckham said in front of reporters Thursday. "My locker is right beside one of the men who means the most to me in the world (Jarvis Landry). I think about just being able to come to work and see him every single day and think about how special this could be.
"I couldn't sit here and tell you whether I'm gonna be here, want to be here, don't want to be here. This is exactly where I'm at now and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. Like I said, God has a plan. In the offseason everything will figure itself out ... I just follow (God's) lead."
Beckham is under contract until 2023, which makes his stance on his future even more concerning. He's owed $14.25 million next season, but the Browns can release him without any cap penalty. The next four years of Beckham's deal are structured as such, giving Cleveland an out if they wish to trade or release him.
The Browns certainly didn't trade for this version of Beckham, who is 28th in receptions, 23rd in yards, 34th in yards per catch, 29th in yards per game, and tied for 94th in touchdowns. Beckham didn't endorse staying in Cleveland when asked about his future either, but the Browns still have something to play for.
He admitted he'll address things in the offseason, but will continue to live in the present. The Browns still have a quarter of their season to play.
"What's the future hold? I don't know that," Beckham said. "I don't know the answers for that. Right now I'm just taking it a day at a time, trying to finish the season healthy, trying to win these last four games and see what happens."
Beckham did have a message to the NFL in 2020, and to the Browns, on how he is set to become one of the game's elite receivers again. The Browns may just want to bank another year on Beckham if he lives up to his words.
"I tell y'all all the time, 2020 is gonna be my year. I'm not really worried so much about what's going to happen in the future," Beckham said. "My mindset for next year ... no matter what is going on, nothing is gonna be in my way. That's just how I feel and that's the goal. (You can) sit here and write it down now, people can talk about it, say whatever they want, but we'll see when it happens next year.
