There’s been talk of shutting down New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. for the season because of injury, but at this point, nobody really knows what’s happening. There’s been no official decision from the team yet and that was revealed by head coach Pat Shurmur on Wednesday, when Shurmur confirmed that Beckham wouldn’t go on the injured reserve list.
Furthermore, Shurmur has actively encouraged Beckham to return before the end of the season, even if it’s unnecessarily risky at this point with the Giants out of the playoff race.
“I think at this point, I think it’s the player’s responsibility to do everything they can to get on the field… It’s important that we do everything we can to show up,” Shurmur also stated on Wednesday, while talking about the upcoming week 16 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Beckham himself has expressed the desire to play in this game, after drawing criticism for missing the last two games with a quad injury.
“If I can play, I’m going to play. It’s just the bottom line. You dreamed of being here, you dedicated, gave everything to be here, so you do all this to play games. As much fun as meetings are and all that other stuff, you do this to play games,” Beckham said. It’s in line with Beckham’s statements all season long. Despite a slow start and a poor early record for the team as a whole, Beckham has consistently been one of the most positive players and has shown an enthusiasm for getting on the field and playing.
But even if Beckham wants to play, that might not be the best move for himself or the team. The Giants are already out of the race for the playoffs, and therefore, it might not be worth it to risk the health of one of the team’s best players for the sake of getting wins in two games that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t mean much.
That’s not to say that they should tank the last two games. But on the other hand, it might not be wise to risk a player like Beckham on them either. Still, those risks don’t seem to have much of an effect on Beckham himself. If it comes down to his own decision, it sounds like we might just see him on the field come Sunday.
“It’s life, so like I said, just taking it a day at a time. There’s not much more I can do than do that and hopefully I feel better tomorrow and then the day after I feel better and day after and day after. I just keep feeling better, that’s the goal.”