MIAMI GARDENS — Odell Beckham Jr. practiced Thursday for the first time as a Miami Dolphin.
“The old guy can still run, you know, a little bit,” he said.
How quickly Beckham can run in a Dolphins uniform on a Sunday afternoon remains the question. Beckham, signed to fill the important third receiver role behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, remains on the physically unable to perform list following offseason knee surgery . He talked about being eased back in, so while it may be ambitious to think he’ll play Sunday in New England, the expectation is that sometime over the next few weeks, he’ll make his Dolphins debut.
“Just being able to get out there and run around, I don’t think the people understand how much of a joy that is,” he said, contrasting it to his immediate post-surgical state when he could not walk.
Beckham is 31 now, 10 years removed from his most recent Pro Bowl appearance and seven years since his last 1,000-yard season.
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Beckham said he needed time to figure out whether to sign in free agency.
“I think a lot of people don’t know exactly what I was going through,” he said. “Just like everybody in here, we’re all humans. We all go through life. Ending the season, there was a lot going on in my life, personal life, business, all of that. It just kind of had me in a place where football wasn’t exactly my priority. My son, he’s 2 years old. He’s growing up fast.”
Fans wondered why Beckham not only hadn’t played, but hadn’t even taken a rep in practice. The hunger to see him in action was compounded as the Dolphins started 1-3 and their offense sputtered . A third wide receiving target was (and is) desperately needed.
General manager Chris Grier has said — and Beckham confirmed — that both sides knew he wasn’t going to be ready for training camp. Beckham said the Dolphins “assured me that I was fine.”
“I could be anywhere in the world right now,” he said. “I chose to be here, to play football in the NFL. I could be overseas, anywhere. I could be doing whatever I want. I’ve done enough in my life to where I’ve warranted that for myself. …
“I don’t want to be walking around this building, waking up at 7, 6:45 a.m. to just come in here at 7, to 5 o’clock. Football is still something that I love to do. It was just an unfortunate situation that I was in.”
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Beckham admitted that if the Dolphins started 4-0, he’d be thinking “I can’t wait to get in.” The 1-3 start does nothing to make his introduction into the offense any easier or less pressing.
“Like I should have been out there, battling with them, win, lose or draw,” he said.
Beckham knows a segment of fans has been critical, accusing him of joining the Dolphins for just the paycheck.
“It sounds messed up, so it’s going to be a bad quote,” Beckham said. “But I’m not getting paid a crazy amount of dollars. I could be making money if I had more time elsewhere, outside of this building. A lot of my contract is incentives-based.”
Beckham’s social media critics overlook that he’s on a one-year deal worth up to $3 million, but only $1.2 million is guaranteed.
“I’ve grown so far past that because at the end of the day you can be the most perfect person in the world, say the most perfect quotes and all, there’s still somebody out there who’s going to hate on you,” he said. “So like there’s no point in getting yourself caught up over that.”
“I’ve said the quote: Hand sanitizer kills 99.9 percent of germs. There’s always still going to be that little something, you know what I mean? There’s no point in worrying about someone’s opinion and all. I’ll never see some of you all in my life again. You have an account with zero posts and 89 followers and whatever. Congrats. Enjoy your life. I’m going to enjoy mine.”
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Beckham thought back to injuries he has dealt with since being taken 12th overall by the New York Giants out of LSU in 2014. A shattered ankle. Sports hernia. ACL.
“I wanted to be the best receiver and all these things,” he said. “But I think my story is going to be more about resiliency and just showing kids that if there's something you want, you're always going to fight for it. You always can find your way back. So that's really just kind of what it's been for me.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com . Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Odell Beckham Jr.: People don't know what I was going through
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