BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said Monday that the team is not considering shutting down Odell Beckham Jr. for the season, even though the star wideout has been battling hip and groin injuries since the beginning of training camp and could require surgery during the offseason.
Kitchens also said that he spoke to Baker Mayfield about critical comments the quarterback made following Sunday's 27-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals concerning how the Browns' training staff has handled Beckham's injuries.
"We don't want him addressing other players' injuries, in that manner especially," said Kitchens, who met with Mayfield on Monday morning. "Odell and our training staff have done a tremendous job of getting Odell to the game each and every week.
"It's been addressed and [Mayfield] understands how to handle things like that moving forward."
Beckham has been limited in practice since the beginning of training camp amid the worst statistical season of his career, excluding his injury-riddled 2017 season with the New York Giants.
Sunday against the Bengals, Beckham finished with only two catches for 39 yards, his seventh consecutive game without 100 receiving yards, extending the longest such streak of his career.
After the game, Mayfield called out the Browns' training staff, suggesting that if Beckham had undergone surgery before the season, he and the team might have been in better shape.
"I'd say that it wasn't handled right," Mayfield said Sunday. "He's not able to run as well as he should be able to, as well as he knows. And that's frustrating for him. You can sense that's some of his frustration, where that comes from. It wasn't handled the right way in our training room. It is what it is. His not 100% is still good enough for us."
Later Sunday, Mayfield apologized on Twitter, clarifying he didn't intend "to throw our medical staff under the bus."
Kitchens declined to say whether surgery was debated for Beckham during the preseason or the specific nature of the injury. But he did say there's been no discussion about shutting Beckham down, even though the 6-7 Browns are now a long shot to make the playoffs.
"I think he is helping the team," Kitchens said. "Odell is doing a great job. ... He wants to be out there for his teammates and I like him to be out there for his teammates. He has been doing a good job of getting prepared during the course of the week to get to the game on Sunday."
Kitchens also pushed back on reports surfacing over the weekend that Beckham is unhappy and wants out of Cleveland. During its pregame show Sunday, Fox Sports reported that Beckham has been telling opposing players and coaches before games, "come get me" out of Cleveland.
"Did Odell say that?" Kitchens replied, when asked about it. "OK, case closed then. Odell did not say it. Odell has not told me anything remotely dealing with that.
"I can only tell you what I think and what I have seen from Odell, and what I have seen from Odell is nothing like the reports indicate, so sorry."