‘Find a way to make that work.’ With OBJ on PUP list, the Dolphins’ receiver rooms looks thin
Tyreek Hill made headlines when he compared his fellow wide receiver to a NBA star.
“When we signed KD,” Hill said of Odell Beckham Jr., referring to Kevin Durant who’s known to argue with NBA fans on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Hill had quote/tweeted another OBJ response to a fan who questioned his availability.
Although Hill’s comparison clearly alluded to both player’s propensity to respond to fans’ criticisms via social media, there was also another unintended implication: Durant and Beckham have an extensive injury history, something that once again got pushed to the forefront now that the latter will start the 2024 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
With OBJ not available until after Week 4, the Dolphins’ receiving room looks incredibly thin to start the season. Only two receivers are healthy — Braxton Berrios and rookie Malik Washington — while everyone else Hill (hand), Jaylen Waddle (compression sleeve on left leg), River Cracraft (shoulder) and Anthony Schwartz (ACL) has nagging injuries. Erik Ezukamna, who was thought to be a lock to make the team prior to sustaining an injury at last week’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also found himself released Tuesday. Add that to the issues already on the offensive line and it’s not exactly the start that a team with high aspirations had necessarily imagined.
“Guys get injured and whatnot, and whoever we’re dealt with to go and play with out there, that’s who we’re dealt with to play with,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Monday. “I’ve had as good of receivers and as fun of receivers to have with Tyreek and Waddle, and I’ve also had guys who didn’t have speed like that, playing my first two years in the league. So we’ve got to go out there and we just got to find a way to make that work.”
In terms of severity, Waddle and Hill could likely play this week if need be. But both already have developed chemistry with Tagovailoa. That on-the-field relationship is certainly an area to monitor whenever OBJ does officially return considering how important it is to the franchise quarterback.
“Off the field, I’ve been able to hang out with him a good amount of times — cool dude, 100 percent,” Tagovailoa said of OBJ on Monday. “But does our relationship translate on the field? I couldn’t tell you, because I haven’t gotten reps with him, and that’s just the honest truth.”
Exactly when those reps will happen still is unclear.
“There’s not a scenario where he’s going to just jump out there with a cape on without practicing at all,” coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. “I think for me, it’s like every other player; you make sure that they progress and you get them back on the field as fast as their body allows them to, and then you allow the comfort level of the player to dictate when he plays.”
With OBJ’s absence, it’s clear other players such as tight end Jonnu Smith will have a bigger role. McDaniel has raved about the ways Smith can impact the game, and the loss of Beckham will surely test the limits of what was statistically the best offense in the NFL.
“I think there is multiple players offensively for us that can serve different roles at different times, which from a schematic standpoint, you’re able to present different problems in varied personnel groups and feature different skill sets that makes your offense more multiple,” McDaniel said of Smith. In a separate interview, McDaniel called the tight end a “guy who really enjoys having the football in his hands and can do some really cool stuff with that.”
The former FIU star, however, appeared excited for the new role.
“That’s one thing that I’ve kind of made my name on in this league: being versatile and being able to make plays from different spots of the field,” Smith said.
Beckham signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins in early May. He joined an already elite Miami offense that led the league in yards in 2023. The three-time Pro Bowler was placed on the PUP list to start training camp as he had to work “through minor things” that were “part of the plan for easing him back into football,” according to Pelissero.
Although Beckham has been seen working with trainers throughout camp, there was still a faction of Fins fans who thought the star wideout purposefully didn’t want to work. He eventually took to X to air out his grievances.
“Lowkey be sooo curious why tf people be so curious about me,” OBJ wrote Aug. 14. “Been chillin out the way workin in the dark.”
Beckham, to his credit, has given every indication he intends to play in 2024.
“I’m always here to prove something,” Beckham said in May. “I want to end my career on my terms. Don’t know when that is, one year, two years, three years — but it’s about wanting to end on a strong note. There’s no way I don’t want to finish a high note. It’s about resilience. The way it’s been the last few years, I can’t go out like that.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 5:49 PM.
