Imagine being courted hard. Chased endlessly by a football team that wouldn't take no for an answer. Imagine telling that team you were not healthy enough to play and for them to say, "Hey, we don't care, we want you on our team." That is the start of Odell Beckham Jr.'s saga with the Miami Dolphins.
We hate to use the term "fanboy" to describe Mike McDaniel, but in the 2024 offseason, he wanted Beckham in a bad way. The Dolphins were initially told no, but that didn't stop them. McDaniel appeared to be more interested in chasing the name, Odell Beckham, than a guy who was going to take his offense to another level.
Chris Grier made it happen, McDaniel got his wish, and OBJ felt like he found a team that truly wanted him to play. Of course, none of that happened once the Pro Bowl receiver actually joined the team. Now, the former NFL standout is speaking out about his time with the Dolphins.
Odell Beckham Jr. slams the Miami Dolphins, calling the entire 2024 season "poison"
Speaking on The Pivot with former Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder, Beckham opened up about the toxicity he felt throughout the single season that led to an early departure later in the year.
"It was like a bit of resentment to have to get up and go into that building (Dolphins training center). Even though it was a blessing, it became like poison to me."Odell Beckham, Jr.
Beckham's plan was straightforward: get his knee cleaned up, undergo rehabilitation, get back in shape, and join a team later in the season. He moved up his surgery, got back onto the field quicker than he was ready, and started the season on IR, which he did not want to do.
The then-newest addition to the Dolphins roster wasn't happy, and that has been an issue at every other stop for him. He rode out the four weeks, but it was reported that he stayed away from the building, at times working out with Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill independently. At one point early in the 2024 season, Hill told the media, "I haven't seen him (OBJ) in weeks."
The frustration was evident even to the fans. When he did return to practice, he wasn't as enthusiastic as many had believed he would be, and the situation only worsened the more he stood on the sidelines.
"I have things more important. I am spending all my time here, for nothing. I'm not even playing."Odell Beckham, Jr.
In his first game with the Dolphins, Beckham played just 14 percent of the snaps and was targeted only one time. In the nine games he played with the Dolphins, he never took more than 32.1 percent of the offensive snaps, and that came in Week 10 when he was targeted twice.
His lone season in Miami produced just 18 targets and an average snap count of just under 20 percent. He would catch only nine passes for 55 yards. Then, as quickly as he landed on IR to start the season, he was gone. The Dolphins released him after Week 14.
Surprisingly, the former three-time Pro Bowler didn't speak much to the media following his release. Fans were expecting to hear something, anything, but he remained quiet.
"All the things I was told and sold on, for whatever reason just didn't happen. "Odell Beckham, Jr.
Beckham would go on to shed some light on his final weeks with the Dolphins. He said that he felt like "Someone chasing two rabbits." He referenced the fact that while in Miami, he was missing the opportunity to spend time with his son. He said that he realized that he wasn't focusing on either of the two, his son and football.
Beckham revealed that he needed to take a step back and made the decision to put his focus on his son, rather than the Dolphins. "I don't think I'm going to be missed in Miami anyway, and my five to six plays a game."
Fans were thrilled to see OBJ leave the roster. He was another organizational mistake, but was he the problem, or were the Dolphins the issue?
It's hard to say exactly, but given some of the comments made by others after leaving the Dolphins, it is clear that whatever the locker room was supposed to be, as reported to the media, was far from what we were being led to believe.
The Dolphins took a big swing to land Beckham, and we will never know why he was only able to get "five or six" plays a game. What we have learned, though, is that he wasn't the right fit for Miami. He was chased, pursued, and courted. He was promised a lot, and nothing was delivered. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it is the nature of the business.