Odell Beckham Jr. is availing himself of some modern medicine in an attempt to heal his injured left ankle.
Beckham, according to NFL.com’s and SiriusXM’s Gil Brandt, is beginning Phoenix Thera-Lase cell treatment on Friday. The treatment’s website claims that Thera-Lase “is a non-invasive, drug free laser therapy treatment which provides relief and healing for both chronic and acute pain, accelerates wound healing and reduces inflammation related to soft tissue injuries.”
Panthers defensive end Jared Allen used Thera-Lase two years ago after breaking his foot in the second round of the playoffs, according to Brandt. Allen was able to play in the Super Bowl three weeks later, which matches the Beckham Jr. timeline to be ready for Week 1 against the Cowboys.
On Thursday afternoon, Beckham Jr. tweeted, “I trust ur process, I kno U don’t make mistakes.” While there was no further context, he certainly could have been referring to his new treatment venture. The Giants have believed their superstar wide receiver will be ready for Week 1 as long as the healing process proceeds normally.
The opportunity for a roster spot has been there all along, said Giants diminutive cornerback Donte Deayon. He has to win a job with his play — not because others aren’t around and he gets a chance Saturday in preseason against the Jets.
So to the rest of the world, Valentino Blake leaving the team for personal reasons and going on the exempt/left squad list provides a real opening for Deayon — along with Eli Apple returning from an ankle injury and Michael Hunter Jr. battling a concussion.
But Deayon sees it differently.
“Blake and them not being here doesn’t change my opportunity. My opportunity has been the same since I got here,” said the 5-foot-9, 163-pound Deayon, a practice-squad member last year after being undrafted out of Boise State. “When they gave me the opportunity to play with the ones, Blake was still here. Dudes were still here. My opportunity doesn’t have anything to do with guys’ absence.”
Head coach Ben McAdoo stressed “next man up” when asked about concerns over defensive backfield depth. But he cited Deayon.
“We are comfortable. A lot of guys have practiced hard and they are going to get some opportunities in the game,” McAdoo said. “Donte Deayon’s been playing some good ball for us. [Michael] Hunter is a guy that is nicked up right now, he is in the protocol, but he’s been playing good ball for us. So it just opens up the window for some other guys.”
Concerning Blake, McAdoo said, “He is dealing with personal issues. We are going to give him some time and space to deal with those.”
McAdoo was asked several questions regarding Blake but gave no insight, other than the player was dealing with personal matters.
When asked when Blake left, McAdoo said, “See my last answer.”
The Giants signed defensive back Tim Scott to fill the void created by Blake’s departure. Scott, 5-11, 195 pounds, was released Aug. 13 by Washington. He was not on an NFL roster last year. The North Carolina product had month-long stays on the Dallas and Cleveland practice squads in 2015.
The line on injured receivers from McAdoo.
On Beckham: “He’s got an ankle. He is working through some treatment. We will see how he responds to it tomorrow.” On what Beckham is missing: “Just practice. An opportunity to get better, prepare for an opponent, a tremendous defense that we are going to see in a couple of days.”
Brandon Marshall: “He’s got a shoulder. He’s getting treatment. He is able to be out here with his teammates, so he is getting some mental reps.”
The running game, which ranked 29th in the NFL last year at 3.5 yards per average is struggling in preseason at 3.2 — in an offense that has not scored a touchdown in two games. Running back Orleans Darkwa stressed there is no reason to panic but there is a sense of immediacy in getting it fixed.
“I would think so. We’re not panicking by any stretch of the imagination. We know what we are as a unit. We know we’ve got a lot of great players on the field,” Darkwa said. “At the same time, we’ve got to make sure we do some good things out there. As far as the unit’s concerned, we’re putting in that extra work, making sure we’re ready. … As far as the panic button, no one is pushing that.”
McAdoo said new rules covering celebrations have been addressed.
“We had the officials in. We had those conversations,” he said. “We want to make sure we are not kicking PATs from Hoboken.”