The Giants will not have Odell Beckham Jr. against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night as he has lost his appeal of his one-game suspension. The NFL’s president of football operations Merton Hanks ruled on Monday that Beckham’s actions against the Panthers on Sunday put his opponents at unnecessary risk of injury.
OBJ was flagged three times for personal fouls on Sunday, but the decisive hit was a helmet-to-helmet clash with Panthers cornerback Josh Norman. Norman was fined $26,044 for hits to the head and neck area on Sunday. Norman may have instigated some of the altercations, but Beckham took it to the next level.
Odell Beckham said in a statement today, “I apologize for my actions on Sunday. … I dropped the ball on sportsmanship.”according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
The Giants will need Beckham against the Vikings if they want to keep their slim shot at the playoffs alive. New York needs to win the remaining two games of their season and the Redskins must lose their last two to make the playoffs.
Beckham’s suspension leaves the wide receiving corps with the streaky Rueben Randle and the banged-up Dwayne Bowe. Hakeem Nicks got 37 snaps against the Panthers, by far the most since the Giants signed him last month. Nicks may slide into Beckham’s spot on the outside, but can in no way pick up the production the Giants will lose as a result of his dangerous and immature behavior on Sunday.