Odell Beckham Jr.: Gregg Williams teaches “cheap shots”

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will probably not have a hearty welcome for New York Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on Monday night.

Beckham met with the media on Thursday as the Browns prepare for their game against the New York Jets and had some unkind words for Williams, who spent the past two seasons with the Browns and is now running the Jets defense.

Williams is all about the “cheap shots” and “dirty hits” and is responsible for the injury problems that limited Beckham to just 16 games over the past two seasons, Beckham told ESPN.

The problems started during a preseason game in 2017 when Cleveland cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun hit Beckham, injuring Beckham’s ankle. Beckham would break that same ankle in Week 4 of the 2017 season and miss the rest of the year.

Last season, Beckham suffered a torn quad muscle and missed the final four games and he lays it all at the feet of Williams, according to ESPN:

“I had people who were here when he was here telling [them] 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. We’re all men out here. There’s no need for doing any of that kind of stuff. Make the plays the best you can clean.

“If God hadn’t blessed me the way that I am I probably would’ve blown out my knee in that preseason game. And that high-ankle sprain led to the broken ankle on the left, which led to compensation in many different areas. It was kinda like a little spiral. So it’s something that I never forget. It changed my life forever.”

Beckham has not faced a Williams-led defense since that preseason game in 2017, so Monday night’s game will be his first chance to get back at Williams.

Combine that with Beckham’s return to the New York area, albeit against the Jets and not his former team in the New York Giants, and it should be quite a night for a national television audience.