When the New York Giants take the turf at Ford Field for their Week 1 game against the Detroit Lions next Monday night, they'll do so without rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is reportedly "weeks away" from returning to the team due to a hamstring injury.
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Beckham, a first round draft pick by the Giants selected with the 12th overall pick in May's NFL Draft, has been plagued by the hamstring injury since training camp started earlier in the summer. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin met with the rookie receiver Sunday to tell him not to rush back and risk further injury.
"Let's just let this kid get better," Coughlin said after practice Monday, according to ESPN New York. "I went to him yesterday to say, 'Let's just not have any more setbacks.' Because it's every day the same question over and over. He's not ready to play. He may be a couple or three weeks away. I'll let you know when he's ready."
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Beckham has not been able to participate much this summer and while he said his injury is frustrating, he felt good coming out of his meeting with Coughlin.
"It just makes me more comfortable to know, 'Make sure you get right. Take your time,'" Beckham said. "Hurting yourself is really hurting the team, so I've just got to try to get better every day. It's great to have the feeling of coach having your back."
Beckham hasn't practiced on the field with the team since Aug. 18 after he re-injured his hamstring while practicing on a limited basis with the Giants. Beckham had originally missed all of June's minicamp because of the injury and he aggravated it on July 22, in New York's first training camp practice.
Beckham had originally intimated that he didn't suffer a set-back after leaving the Aug. 18 practice, but now it appears that the injury's slow progression is vexing to him.
"Just kept re-aggravating it," Beckham said. "Right now I'm just taking it day by day. I don't set any limits on myself."
With Beckham sidelined, Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan are the three main receivers in the Giants lineup heading into their Monday Night Football clash with the Lions.
New York is looking to bounce back from a terrible 2013 campaign that saw it limp to an 0-6 record to start the season and 7-9 finish while it missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Beckham, 21, had 57 receptions last year for Louisiana State for 1,117 yards and eight touchdowns and closed out his career there with 141 catches for 2,305 yards and 12 touchdowns.
When he makes his first NFL reception remains to be seen.
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