Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams responded to Odell Beckham Jr.'s accusations that the coach told his players to injure the wide receiver during a preseason game two years ago.
When pressed about Beckham's recent claims, Williams said with a slight laugh: "Odell who?" before saying, "That was a joke ... that was Jerry [Jones]," in reference to how the Cowboys owner responded to Ezekiel Elliott holdout questions in the preseason.
“Odell who?”
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) September 13, 2019
Jets DC Gregg Williams responds to Odell Beckham’s accusations that he told his players to injure the star WR two years ago.
“You guys are cooperating giving him attention. Just don’t give him attention.”
pic.twitter.com/RVFL5g29R9
"We've got several players that have already come out and mentioned things about that," Williams said of Beckham's comment. "We don't do that. Never done that anywhere I've been. We don't do anything to hurt the team. It's the number one primary thing. If you're committing penalties, you're doing that type of stuff — we just don't do it. You guys are cooperating giving him attention. Just don’t give him attention.”
Williams went on to take a shot at Beckham after a reporter said Beckham is "one of the most dynamic players in the league."
Williams interrupted by saying, "That's your opinion. What's New York's opinion? The Giants' opinion? What did the Giants do? ... That's not a question for me."
Coach Adam Gase also addressed Beckham's comments against Williams, saying his staff is doing nothing but "coaching it clean."
"Everything I’ve heard from Gregg Williams and our staff has been the type of things that we want football to be played like, which is about energy, effort — and everything I’ve seen, we’re coaching it clean," Gase told reporters Friday (via cleveland.com).
Gase's comments come after Beckham said Thursday that Williams, who was a defensive coordinator for the Browns from 2017-18 before serving as interim head coach in 2018, coaches his players to make "dirty hits and cheap shots" targeted at him.
“The only thing I’m buying is you know probably just got to watch out for the cheap shots and the dirty hits and all the things that [Williams] likes to teach,'' Beckham said. "That’s pretty much all we’ve got to watch out for. Other than that, I expect the same. Two-high safety. I don’t expect much man to man. I don’t expect none of that.”
Beckham said Williams "changed my life forever" when he was hit during a preseason game in 2017 while playing for the Giants. He explained that Browns players told him they were taught to take him out. Beckham ended up injuring his ankle in that preseason matchup and later broke the same one in Week 5 of the regular season. He missed the final 12 games of the 2017 season after having surgery on his ankle.
"I had people who were here when he was here telling us, ‘If you get a chance, take a shot at him. If you can hurt him. I guarantee he’s going to leave the game hurt.’ And stuff like that,'' Beckham added. "It’s fine. It’s football, in a sense. We’re all men out there, so there’s no need for doing any of that kind of stuff.
"It’s like a known rule, in preseason nobody in the NFL’s really out to do stuff like that. So you just know who he is. That’s the man calling the plays.''
The Jets and Browns will play Monday at MetLife Stadium with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET.