Individuals within the Cleveland Browns have repeatedly insisted that star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is on track to be in the lineup for Week 1 of the upcoming regular season and will be a key offensive contributor coming off the torn ACL he suffered on Oct. 25 of last year.
Beckham took an important positive step on Tuesday.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted that Beckham passed his physical and, thus, is not beginning training camp on the physically unable to perform list. The 28-year-old officially returned to practice for the first time since the injury during last month's mandatory minicamp, and Tuesday's update suggests he's experienced no noticeable setback since the team released players for summer break.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and other teammates all criticized the notion last fall Cleveland's offense improved after Beckham went down before Halloween, but the numbers show Mayfield posted the league's third-best total QBR from Week 7 to Week 15 of the campaign amid Beckham's absences.
As Nick Shook noted for the league's website, it's unclear how active Beckham will be throughout the preseason and if he will participate in any August exhibition games.
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