Odell Beckham Jr. took a moment to himself on Thursday as he made his long-awaited return to Miami Dolphins practice.
Videos by FanBuzz
The veteran wide receiver, who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, knelt with his head on his hands after stepping onto the field. As a video from Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post showed, he then stood up, touched his hand to his chest, and then kissed his fingers before heading to practice.
Odell Beckham, Jr. before first full Miami Dolphins practice on Thursday VIDEOS pic.twitter.com/axAXFNYixk
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) October 3, 2024
Thursday marked the first opportunity for Beckham to practice after head coach Mike McDaniel opened up the practice window. The veteran receiver started the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List and he missed the first four games of the season as the Dolphins went 1-3.
"Odell's looked great," said wide receivers coach Wes Welker on Thursday. "Just some of the routes on air and different things like that. He looks like the Odell that we've seen.
"Very excited to get him out there, get him moving around, and get him chemistry with all of the guys in the room and with quarterbacks. Really just continue to work the process and really just see how he looks out there at practice."
Beckham has remained away from the field since the early days of training camp. He was not able to participate in practice and he watched the preseason games from the sideline.
The Dolphins then announced in August that Beckham would start the season on the PUP list. According to NFL Media's Nick Shook, this was the result of an offseason procedure that Beckham underwent before signing with Miami.
Beckham provided clarity about this procedure on Thursday, telling reporters that he had some clean-up work done on his knee. He also noted that the Dolphins knew he would not be ready for the start of the season when they agreed to sign him.
Beckham is now getting closer to potentially suiting up for his ninth season in the NFL. He spent his first five years with the Giants, which he used to top 1,000 receiving yards four times and reach the Pro Bowl three times.
Beckham spent two seasons with the Browns before splitting 2021 between the Browns and Rams. He missed 2022 after winning a Super Bowl with the Rams but returned last season to play for the Ravens.