BEREA — Denzel Ward flashed a knowing smile when a reporter asked about the cornerback’s history of Browns practice battles against wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Is there some specific knowledge Ward obtained by working with Beckham while they were teammates in Cleveland?
“Potentially. Potentially,” Ward, a Nordonia High School graduate, said Thursday with the aforementioned grin. “I’m looking forward to the matchup, and I think it’s going to be fun.”
The Browns (5-3) will reunite with Beckham when they visit the Baltimore Ravens (7-2) for a crucial AFC North showdown Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Beckham was inactive with an ankle injury on Oct. 1 when the Browns lost 28-3 to the visiting Ravens in Week 4. He fully participated in Thursday’s practice after sitting out Wednesday to rest.
Now Beckham is set to play the Browns this weekend for the first time since he forced his way out of Northeast Ohio during the 2021 season amid frustration about a lack of chemistry with former Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield.
If any hard feelings still exist between Beckham and the Browns, he isn’t letting on.
“I made great bonds and memories with those guys over there,” Beckham told Baltimore reporters. “Once you’re on a team, you build a brotherhood that lasts way longer than anything else.
“Not to be like, ‘Oh, it’s another game to me,’ but it will be fun to go against these guys who are friends and brothers of mine. But definitely no animosity on my end for sure. A lot of love and respect.”
Beckham has always had plenty of fans in Cleveland’s locker room. Despite the nature of Beckham’s exit from the team, many Browns players cheered for OBJ months after the divorce while he finished the 2021 season as a Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Rams.
Beckham suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament with the Browns in 2020 and had ACL surgery again after being knocked out of the Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13, 2022, in Super Bowl LVI.
Beckham, who turned 31 on Nov. 5, still has something left in the tank after multiple ACL repairs. In April, he signed a one-year contract with the Ravens worth as much as $18 million, including $3 million in incentives.
“He’s a fighter, man,” Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. said. “Honestly, I feel like he’s not [as] explosive as he once was in his career. Still a great receiver — don’t get me wrong — but he got that fight in him, and he know what he can do and he’s confident in himself. So he’s a threat.”
A third-round pick in last year’s draft, Emerson wasn’t with the Browns during Beckham’s time in Cleveland (2019-21). But Emerson said he followed Beckham’s career as a kid and has heard all about OBJ from members of the Browns who played with him, like Ward.
“They tell me everything about him,” Emerson said. “[They tell me] how he can change speeds, get out of breaks, great hands, great receiver. They told me a lot of stories about him.”
In seven games this season, Beckham has caught 19 passes on 33 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown — a 6-yard reception from Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley — occurred last weekend in the Ravens’ 37-3 home victory over the Seattle Seahawks. It was Beckham’s first TD with the Ravens.
“He looks good. Odell, he’s a great receiver,” Ward said. “He’s always been a great receiver and able to make a lot of plays for those guys. Great hands, great routes. He’s a great player, so he’s going to present a challenge.”
Browns safety Grant Delpit built a relationship with Beckham through the connections they have in common as former Louisiana State University stars.
“He’s a good dude, man. He gets a bad rep sometimes, but, man, that’s my dude,” Delpit said. “He’s a great person in the locker room. He’s great teammate. So I’ve got nothing but respect for that dude. But [when] we step between these white lines, man, it’s game on. So we could talk at the end [of the game], but I’m not really worried about that right now.”
Oddly enough, though, Delpit also conceded he forgot this will be the first time he encounters OBJ as an NFL opponent. Perhaps it’s an indication Beckham isn’t close to the greatest worry of the Cleveland defense as it prepares for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Like Beckham, Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman sat out in Week 4, with a hamstring injury. Bateman has 17 catches on 25 targets for 180 yards in eight games this season.
Beckham, Bateman and wide receiver Nelson Agholor (18 catches on 23 targets for 224 yards and two TDs) complement Jackson’s top two targets: rookie receiver Zay Flowers (45 catches on 62 targets for 472 yards and a TD) and tight end Mark Andrews (41 catches on 55 targets for 477 yards and six TDs).
Another change since Week 4 is that Ravens rookie running back Keaton Mitchell has emerged as a factor. He rushed nine times for 138 yards and a TD against the Seahawks.
Bateman (back) and Mitchell (hamstring) were limited in Thursday’s practice.
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Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz downplayed the notion this version of the Ravens is significantly different than the banged-up edition the Browns met last month.
“Obviously, [Beckham] adds another weapon,” Schwartz said. “They have a full arsenal of guys.”
For the Browns, the AFC North-leading Ravens being closer to full strength is nothing to smile about.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
