Odell Beckham suffered torn ACL during Super Bowl 2022
It is the best of times, it is the worst of times for Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham is believed to have torn the ACL in his left knee for the second time in as many seasons Sunday in Super Bowl 56, according to a source-cited NFL Network report. Beckham joined Rams teammates on the sideline and in the on-field postgame celebration after their 23-20 win over the Bengals, but spoke only to select reporters before leaving the building.
The former Giants star had two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in the first half of his long-awaited Super Bowl debut before crumpling to the ground with his hand on his knee from a non-contact injury.
“I was trying to go back out there,” Beckham told CBS Sports. “Docs are just going to take care of you.”
Beckham originally tore his ACL on Oct. 25, 2020, in a game with the Browns. He missed the rest of that season plus the first two games of the 2021 season during an 11-month recovery.
After he forced his way off the Browns in November, Beckham authored a well-timed career resurgence with the Rams.
“I know what a huge impact he’s had on our football team since we got him,” head coach Sean McVay said Monday morning. “It was heartbreaking to see that because of how much [he endured] just to get to that moment. And he had really made an impact with those two catches that were huge plays. I think he was in line for a big game.”
Now, instead of entering free agency after proving he is still a No. 1 receiver with 48 catches for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games over the regular season and playoffs, Beckham will hit the market with injury limitations.
Before the injury, Beckham suggested his free-agent preference was to return to the Rams — he long desired an opportunity to play near his offseason home of Los Angeles — but negotiations could be complicated and delayed because the three-time Pro Bowler almost certainly will miss the start of next season.
Beckham, 29, cashed in once before, signing a five-year, $90 million extension with the Giants in 2019. Within six months, he punched his own ticket out of town via trade and wound up earning about $72 million of that record-setting contract between the Giants and Browns.
Beckham earned $4.25 million with the Rams, most of which was bonuses accumulated on top of a bargain $750,000 base salary, according to Spotrac.com.
Injuries have beset a career that once seemed destined for the Hall of Fame. Beckham has missed games (27 total) to injury in four of the last five seasons, beginning with a fractured left ankle in October 2017.
This latest rehab can be undertaken with a Super Bowl ring on his finger, however.
“There was a moment I was in the back room and they told me I was done, I couldn’t play,” Beckham said. “And I had to come back out there and be a part of this because it’s so much bigger than myself. And these boys pulled through and made it happen.”
