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Browns' Kitchens: Beckham missed 'a lot' by skipping OTAs

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Odell Beckham Jr. will be playing catch - or catch-up - when the superstar wideout reports to the Cleveland Browns' mandatory minicamp next week.

Head coach Freddie Kitchens said Thursday that Beckham missed "a lot ... the offense," by sitting out voluntary organized team activities, according to the Akron Beacon Journal's Nate Ulrich.

Beckham, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the New York Giants in March, has participated in one of nine practices since the beginning of OTAs, which wrap up Friday.

The Browns are counting on Beckham to turn their offense into one of the most dangerous in the NFL in 2019. He hauled in 77 catches for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games for the Giants last year and eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in four of his first five NFL campaigns. The only time he fell short of 1,000 yards was in 2017, when an ankle injury limited him to four games.

"I just want to see him," Kitchens said, referring to next week's minicamp.

Beckham skipped voluntary practices last year with the Giants while recovering from ankle surgery and awaiting a new contract, and he attended all mandatory sessions. As is the case this year with the Browns, Beckham had to learn a new offense last season, as Pat Shurmur took over the Giants.

While Beckham is expected to partake in minicamp, his close friend and teammate, Jarvis Landry, is expected to be held out with an injury for precautionary reasons, Kitchens said.

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