Odell Beckham Jr. accused New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams of trying to get players to injure him during a preseason game two years ago.
Beckham made the comments Thursday as the Cleveland Browns prepare to take on the Jets during a Monday night matchup. Two years ago, Williams was coaching the Browns while Beckham was playing for the New York Giants.
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Beckham said he was told by Browns players that Williams instructed them to “take me out of the game.”
“I had people who were here when he was here telling us, 'If you get a chance, take a shot at him. If you can hurt him. I guarantee he's going to leave the game hurt.' And stuff like that,” Beckham said. “It's fine. It's football, in a sense.”
One play that was highlighted was a leaping catch that Beckham made during the 2017 preseason game. He was hit low by former Browns cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Beckham suffered a severe ankle sprain because of the hit and didn’t play the first game of the Giants’ season.
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Beckham claimed the ankle sprain led to other leg injuries.
“It's like a known rule, in preseason nobody in the NFL's really out to do stuff like that,” he said. “... So you just know who he is. That's the man calling the plays.”
Beckham was asked about the potential defensive tactics he might face against the Jets. When he heard Williams’ name, he seized the opportunity to bring up the claim.
“The only thing I'm buying [for Monday's game] is you know probably just got to watch out for the cheap shots and the dirty hits and all the things that he likes to teach,” Beckham said. “That's pretty much all we've got to watch out for. Other than that, I expect the same.”
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Williams was at the center of the so-called “Bountygate” scandal when he was with the New Orleans Saints. He was suspended for a year in 2012 after Saints players were found to be operating by a bounty system in which they would receive a bonus for hard hits and deliberately injuring players.
Williams has not responded publicly to Beckham's claims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.