When Von Miller daydreamed out loud last offseason to Odell Beckham Jr. about the two of them playing on the same team one day, possibly in Ohio, his friend had one sentence for him.
“Don't come to Cleveland,” Miller recalls to Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop.
The pair had been rehabbing their respective injuries that threw their football futures in question, Miller with his dislocated patella tendon and Beckham Jr. with his ACL. The two were training in Colorado Springs when the conversation happened, foreshadowing Beckham Jr.’s true feelings about the franchise that would inevitably become very public months later.
The NFL superstar wideout’s relationship with the Browns, who he played for for two-and-a-half seasons, quickly soured during the 2021 campaign. Beckham Jr.’s father posted comments in an 11-minute video on social media about his son not being thrown the ball by Browns quarterbacks, primarily Baker Mayfield.
The video is a voice recording over a YouTube video that shows the Browns receiver being left open in routes over multiple weeks.
“Generally Behind Da Scene, BUT NOT TODAY," Beckham Sr. wrote on Instagram.
His son tallied just tallied 17 receptions for 232 yards and no touchdowns for the Browns this campaign, and he was reportedly told not to attend practice when he was prepared. Eventually, coach Kevin Stefanski reportedly said in a team meeting that the wide receiver was “essentially not on the team right now," and Beckham Jr. was released days later.
Meanwhile, just days before in early November 2021, Miller had been traded to the Rams from the Broncos. The outside linebacker urged Los Angeles to sign Beckham Jr., and the franchise did so once the wide receiver cleared the waivers.
The day that will go down in history: Nov. 15, 2021, Miller and Beckham Jr.’s first game together in the same NFL jersey. Sometimes, dreams do come true.
