EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- I'm not going to sit here and tell you not to panic, because it was about a year ago that New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham started missing practice time with what we were told was a minor hamstring concern and that minor concern ended up lasting until October.
So no, I'm not going to tell you not to panic over the fact that the Giants held Beckham out of the team portion of OTA practice Monday with what coach Tom Coughlin described as "soreness" in his hamstring.
"Precautionary," Coughlin said, and rushed to point out that it was the other hamstring, not the same one that cost Beckham all of training camp and the first four games of the 2014 regular season.
It may turn out to be nothing major. But considering the significance of Beckham, who won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for his 91-catch, 1,305-yard, 12-touchdown performance in the final 12 games of last season, it's worth watching. Moreso because of Beckham's recent history with this type of injury.
"That's all it is, precautionary," Beckham said in a statement released by the team.
Beckham's activity during practice Monday was reminiscent of 2014 training camp. He fielded a couple of punts, didn't run with them, and then stood off to the side talking to coaches during team drills. Giants fans obviously hope that this was a one-day recurrence, and not the start of a fresh new problem.
"I try not to even think about last year," Beckham said in the quotes released by the team. "Comparing this to last year is just not even comparable.
"It's always frustrating when you have to miss what you love doing. Just not practicing today was enough for me. But it's part of the game. The good thing is that it's just precautionary. I don't want to miss anything. I'll just go with the flow."
