Odell Beckham Jr. declared inactive for Sunday night's game
Odell Beckham Jr. will not play in the New York Giants’ season debut. He’s still suffering the effects of a high ankle sprain he endured in the preseason.
Few had expected Beckham to play, largely because he hadn’t been anywhere close to 100 percent in any practices leading up to Sunday night’s divisional matchup with the Cowboys. A Beckham without a cut and footspeed is a liability, so it’s the smart play to leave him on the sideline for the night. The Giants are expected to contend for a playoff berth this season, and losing Beckham for a longer period than expected wouldn’t be worth even a divisional win over Dallas.
“If it is safe for the player to play, and he is not going to do further harm to himself physically, then we would think about playing him,” Giants head coach Ben McAdoo told reporters a few days ago. “But I have never put a player out there who would do further damage to himself physically.”
“I feel like this camp, this season coming up, there was no better season that I would have,” Beckham said earlier in the week. “So, it’s just unfortunate, but it really was just a little setback for me to come back. Whatever. However you want to look at it, I just know I’m in a good place and trying to get there day to day just being patient.”
____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
More NFL coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• Tony Romo earns high praise in NFL broadcast debut
• After just one half, Texans make a QB change
• Matt Stafford throws priciest pick-six in NFL history
• Browns, police unite after anthem protest issue
• New report spells more trouble for Luck, Colts
