Odell Beckham Jr. exits Super Bowl with knee injury, will not return for Rams
With the clock ticking down in Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Rams are playing without one of the best playmakers.
Sprinting across the middle of the field, star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. — who’d come up huge already with a leaping touchdown grab and another long catch — prepared to haul in a short pass from Matthew Stafford. The ball went careening off his fingertips, however, as his left knee appeared to buckle.
The Rams won their first Super Bowl in Los Angeles on Sunday in a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
Beckham‘s hand immediately grasped near his knee as he collapsed to the ground in a heap. He appeared to yell in pain, and stayed on the ground for a few moments. After being evaluated by the Rams’ medical staff in the locker room, he was ruled out from returning by the team in the third quarter.
Beckham has been a huge difference-maker in the Rams’ passing game ever since a midseason trade from the Cleveland Browns, where the disgruntled receiver was struggling. Since arriving in Los Angeles, Beckham has hauled in seven touchdowns across the regular season and playoffs — the same number as the entirety of his two and a half years in Cleveland.
The sports world took up arms immediately after Beckham Jr.’s injury on Twitter.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Richard Sherman tweeted, “No @obj! Praying for you,” while longtime Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson typed, “Oh no! Praying for you @obj.”
Even athletes outside of the NFL took to social media to show their support. Burgeoning Memphis Grizzles star point guard Ja Morant tweeted a praying-hands emoji and added, “no dawg. come on obj” (sic), and outspoken Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said, “Prayers up for OBJ!! He built for the big moment.”
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