Cleveland Browns are releasing wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Cleveland Browns have announced they are parting ways with Odell Beckham Jr.

The news comes after Beckham Jr. was excused from practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Reports emerged early Friday that Beckham Jr. would be released by the Browns. The team confirmed that they are moving on with a statement on Friday morning:

The Browns general manager, Andrew Berry, spoke to the media on Friday afternoon:

On Wednesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed for the first time that Beckham Jr. was not with the team while Browns general manager Andrew Berry met with the wide receiver’s representatives.

There was speculation that the Browns may have tried to trade Beckham Jr. before Tuesday’s deadline, but no transactions were made.

Beckham Jr. joined the Cleveland Browns via trade in 2019, but the former Pro Bowl-caliber receiver has not been able to put up the types of stats he tallied while he was with the New York Giants; whether due to injury or other reasons.

In Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Beckham Jr. caught one pass for six yards.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield also spoke with reporters at practice on Wednesday, saying he was surprised by everything going on involving Beckham.

The 4-4 Cleveland Browns travel to Cincinnati next for a road game against the AFC North rival Bengals on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.

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