Odell Beckham Says "Bountygate" Coach Gregg Williams Ordered Dirty Hit on Him

Prior to his return to New York for Monday Night Football, Odell Beckham accused current Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was suspended from the NFL following the Saints’ Bountygate scandal, of trying to get players to injure him.

Beckham’s accusation is based on what went down during a 2017 preseason game while he was with the New York Giants and Williams, who paid players for causing injuries while he was with the Saints, was the interim coach for the receiver’s new team, the Cleveland Browns.

During the 2017 game, Cleveland cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun went low during an open-field tackle and nailed Beckham’s left knee. Due to the hit, Beckham sustained a sprained left ankle which kept him out of the season opener. When he did finally come back from the injury, Beckham played four games before breaking that same ankle, ending his season.

Odell Beckham Jr. says current and former #Browns players told him that #Jets DC Gregg Williams would tell them to take him out of the game when possible with hits.

Flashback to this hit he took in 2017 preseason. Odell says it "changed his life."pic.twitter.com/EpVykGiblj

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 12, 2019

“I had players on this team telling me that’s what he was telling them to do: take me out of the game, and it’s preseason,” Beckham said of Williams. “So you just know who he is. That’s the man who’s calling the plays. I had people who were here when he was here telling [them], ‘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. It’s something that I’ll never forget. It’s something that changed my life forever.”

Jonathan Vilma, a former Jets and Saints linebacker who played under Williams, defended his former coach on Friday on ESPN’s Get Up.

“There is no truth to (Beckham’s comments),” Vilma said. “I was with Gregg Williams for three years, one of the best defensive coordinators I had. And he teaches physicality. He teaches aggression. And by the way, the hit on Odell Beckham that got him injured was a legal hit. We talk about going low because if a player can’t run, a player can’t score. But when you take those shots that are considered cheap shots by offensive players sometimes, it’s really about going low and taking the legs out.”

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”