Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.
Beckham injured his knee early in the Browns’ 37-34 win against Cincinnati while he tried to chase down Bengals defensive back Darius Phillips following an interception from Baker Mayfield. Beckham appeared to twist his knee, and he was escorted to the locker room.
Initially, the Browns announced Beckham would be questionable to return before later ruling him out for the game. The subsequent MRI ruled the 27-year-old playmaker out for the year, which leaves Mayfield and the Browns — in the thick of a competitive AFC North battle — to find other targets.
Beckham had caught 23 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns through six weeks of the season.
In a wild game against the Bengals, which included five lead changes in the fourth quarter, the Browns pulled out a win when Mayfield dropped in a dime to rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones in the corner of the end zone with 11 seconds remaining.
That was just Peoples-Jones’ third reception of the season, but he could become more pronounced in the offense now — along with Jarvis Landry and David Njoku, the latter a tight end who recently returned from a wrist injury.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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