After nine NFL seasons with four different teams, Odell Beckham Jr. has caught passes from several different quarterbacks. None of them threw left-handed, though.
So the 31-year-old veteran admits he had reservations about joining the Miami Dolphins where he’ll be catching passes from Tua Tagovailoa, the NFL’s only lefty quarterback with a starting job.
“I definitely was a little hesitant at first, because he’s a lefty and I think I shied away from lefties,” Beckham said at a press conference earlier this month. “But now that I think about it, I’ve been throwing with Jarvis Landry since I was 15 years old. One of my trainers is left-handed. They said he just throws different. They said the accuracy and the spin, they’re like it’s not really like he’s left-handed.”
Beckham isn’t the first Dolphins receiver to talk about adjusting to Tagovailoa’s lefty delivery. Two years ago, it was one of the first things on Tyreek Hill’s mind when he was acquired by Miami in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tyreek Hill on Tua:
“Tua man.. great arm talent, very precise, accuracy.. he’s very accurate. I was excited to team up with a left handed QB. I’ve never played with a left handed QB, so I’m excited. It’s going to be interesting catching passes from Tua.” pic.twitter.com/EAzT7CxOIj
— Tili🌺 (@tili____) March 24, 2022
But after watching some tape of the Dolphins offense in action, Beckham was sold.
🎥 Odell Beckham Jr. on playing with Tua Tagovailoa: "They were just telling me how accurate he is, how good of a ball he throws, all of those things. I'm super excited about it. I met him today, great person, seems like his energy is just infectious." (@MiamiDolphins) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/cXAXLjY7j2
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) May 17, 2024
Beckham is betting a lot of money on his success in the Dolphins offense. If he finished with the same statistics he had with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, Beckham would miss out on all of the $5.25 million in incentives that are built into his contract.
Tagovailoa’s left-handed delivery may have given Beckham brief pause, but the receiver seems more than confident that it won’t stop him from putting up big numbers in Miami.
