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Beckham took offense that wearing the watch during Sunday’s game became the latest cause celebre in his celebrity life. He Tweeted on Monday, “If ain’t one thing.... it’s another..."
At his locker on Tuesday, Beckham said, “Anybody else would have worn the watch, or if it was a $20 watch, it wouldn’t be a problem.
“That’s just my life. If it ain’t this, it’s something else. If it wasn’t the watch, it would’ve been the way I tied my shoes.”
The Browns confirmed they heard from the NFL that the watch was a violation of a rule against having “a hard object” on one’s body during a game.
But Beckham said he will continue to wear the watch.
“The same way I wear it every day,” he said. “When I go to practice, I go here, I go there, I’ve been wearing it. Take a shower with it on. It’s just on me. I’m going to wear it. It shouldn’t be an issue.”
Does Beckham fear an NFL fine for violating said rule?
“For what?” he said. “You have to look into the rule book. It says you can’t wear any hard objects. The watch is plastic. People have knee braces on that are hard and made out of metal, you don’t see them taking them off. No jewelry. Everyone else has jewelry on.”
“Baker’s fine,” coach Freddie Kitchens said.
Also on the field was receiver Rashard Higgins, who suffered an ankle injury on the Mayfield backward pass to Jarvis Landry on the third play of the game. Higgins had made an 11-yard reception on the previous play and also had a catch for 35 yards down to the Titans’ 4 on the opening touchdown drive, but was unable to continue after that.
“I feel good, man,” Higgins said. “When Monday comes, I’m gonna be out there.”
Kitchens said that third tackle Kendall Lamm, who replaced ejected Greg Robinson in the second quarter on Sunday and then suffered a knee injury on the sack of Mayfield in the end zone, would be out “maybe a couple days, maybe a couple weeks.”
Kitchens would not reveal how the Browns intend to replace Lamm, who was the only natural tackle beyond the starters. Guard-center Justin McCray finished the game at right tackle as Chris Hubbard moved to the left side. Robinson will be back at left tackle for the Jets game.
Meantime, Kitchens indicated he would stick with Eric Kush as the starting right guard.
“I thought Kush played well. Thought he held his own in there,” Kitchens said.
The first overall special teams performance by new coordinator Mike Priefer was promising.
Only two of the 18 team penalties were on special teams. Rookie punter Jamie Gillan averaged a robust 46.6 yards on five punts, and caused Tennessee possessions to begin at the 13-, 15- and 6-yard lines. And Dontrell Hilliard averaged 26.7 yards on three kickoff returns and 18 yards on one punt return.
“I thought our coverage units were outstanding,” Kitchens said. “I was pleased with the effort, the attention to detail and ability to go down and make a play.”
The only negative was Austin Seibert’s missed PAT on his first attempt. It took the air out of the pumped-up, sold-out crowd, but Seibert was proud that he nailed the second one.
“I warmed up well, had a great week of practice, probably the best week I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Seibert said. “Just went out there and, I guess, just anxious and so excited … just swung across my body a little bit, so it’s an easy fix. Next one went out there and calmed myself down a little bit and put it right through.
“It wasn’t great at all to start off like that, personally. But I think just having the resiliency to bounce back and make the next one just shows that I’m focused on the next kick, and I want to help this team whatever way I can. I wanted to make it, but it didn’t happen.”
Seibert said he was especially excited not because of the loud crowd but because it marked the realization of his long-time dream to play in the NFL.
He said, “I like playing on the road better than at home, personally. It’s weird. Everyone’s against you [on the road] … just cool checking out new spots.”
He’ll find out how cool Monday night in MetLife Stadium against the Jets.
According to Rick Gosselin of the Talk of Fame Network, the 18 penalties by the Browns on Sunday were the most assessed against one team in a game since the eighth week of the 2016 season when the Raiders had 23 against Tampa.