The 2019 campaign was supposed to be a big one for Odell Beckham Jr. and the Cleveland Browns.
New team, new environment, new expectations, all of that.
Beckham was traded from the New York Giants to the Browns back in March, and while he never really wanted to leave the Big Apple, he was happy to be joining a contender.
Well, a team that was supposed to be a contender.
Instead, the Browns have gone just 2-6 through the first nine weeks of the season, and Beckham has been largely disappointing, logging 39 catches for 575 yards and just one touchdown.
Now, the 27-year-old is already looking forward to next year:
Article Continues Below“Going through that year of 26 was one of the hardest challenges I’ve had so far and just to see where I’ve grown and knowing what I’ve wanted to do at 27 for the past three to four years, I’ve been saying 2020 is my year,’’ Beckham told Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. “2020 will be the best year of my life.’’
But what makes Beckham think that 2020 will be his year?
“I just know it,’’ Beckham said. “I don’t know. I’ve been saying it for a long time.’’
I wonder if he was saying that back in September when what looked like it was going to be a promising season was just set to get underway.
Beckham spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Giants, making the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons before injuries limited him to just 16 games combined in 2017 and 2018.
New York dealt him to Cleveland not even a full year after signing him to a six-year contract extension because it had grown tired of the constant ripples Beckham had been causing through the media.