EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is expected to miss his fourth straight game Sunday, the team announced Friday.
It’s a fitting end to a frustrating season for Beckham, who signed a lucrative new deal that made him the league’s highest-paid wide receiver this summer.
There was hope earlier this week that Beckham could return for Sunday’s season finale against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium — a game that could be quarterback Eli Manning‘s last with the team.
Beckham, however, did not practice this week and will remain sidelined because of an injury that has lingered since a Week 12 loss to the Eagles. Beckham was leg-whipped on the final play of that game by Philadelphia linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, who was fined $20,054 for his actions.
Beckham played the following week in a win over the Chicago Bears before missing the final four games. His season ends with 77 catches for 1,052 yards and 6 TDs in 12 games. Those are all career lows for a season where he didn’t miss a majority of the year because of injury.
After missing most of 2017 with a broken ankle, there didn’t appear to be any noticeable falloff this season. Beckham was still explosive and dynamic at times, notching five 100-yard performances in 12 games.
His decreased production seemed more to be a product of the Giants’ offensive struggles early this year. Manning threw just eight touchdown passes in the first eight games, and Beckham didn’t get on the board until Week 5. He finished with four touchdown receptions in his final four games.
But there was clearly frustration. Beckham said in an October interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he couldn’t rule out Manning as the problem and admitted he wasn’t fully content with his role.
The Giants (5-10) missed the playoffs for the second straight season. They have now failed to qualify for the postseason in four of their five seasons with Beckham on the roster.
Beckham, 25, signed a five-year deal that could be worth up to $95 million this offseason. He was unable to follow it with his best season. He didn’t make the Pro Bowl for just the second time in his five-year career.
“You just got to work harder. That’s all I could say,” Beckham said last week. “The guys who did make it, these are all very talented people who had incredible seasons, so you just got to tip your hat to them. They made it in and that’s just motivation. Just keep working, work harder to where you can be in that next year, but just got to tip your hat to those guys, really.”