The Cleveland Browns had a 3rd-and-goal situation on their opening drive Monday night against the New York Jets. Giving the ball to Odell Beckham Jr. might have been their first thought, but there was one big problem: he wasn’t on the field.
ESPN showed Beckham on the Browns’ sideline upset about being off the field for the 3rd-and-goal play. The network’s announcers said Beckham had been forced out of the game by the officials due to a helmet shield issue — it turns out his visor was too tinted.
OBJ called out for the tinted visor pic.twitter.com/7v2kgNJqCp
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 17, 2019
So yes, Cleveland had to go for 3rd-and-goal without their best offensive player because the referees decided to address his helmet shield at the time.
Why was it only caught then? Why not before the game? Or why not wait until after the drive to address it? That seemed like very poor timing by the officials, and it cost the Browns.
Cleveland threw an incompletion and settled for a field goal to go up 3-0.
This is the second straight week that Odell has had an issue with his uniform accessories during a game.
The NFL does allow for the Oakley “Prizm Clear” shield visor to be worn as part of a new four-year sponsorship deal. The equipment “has a slight color tint engineered to help optimize detail recognition in the football environment,” according to the company.
