What McDaniel Said (And Didn't Say) About the Beckham Move

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel fielded a lot of injury-related questions as per the usual Friday, but his session this week also included a lot of Odell Beckham Jr. questions.

That was to be expected after the Dolphins made the headline-grabbing move of waiving the veteran wide receiver earlier in the day, and McDaniel obliged, though he reached a point where he wanted to move on to different topics.

After three earlier questions regarding Beckham, a question about Patrick Paul was followed by another about OBJ and whether McDaniel had any regrets about the Dolphins signing him.

"No, no regrets," McDaniel said. "My only regrets are that we're not talking more about the Texans. "

The Dolphins, of course, will face the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Additional reading:

-- The wide receiver corps without Beckham

-- Beckham the latest to fail in attempted last hurrah with the Dolphins

-- The Odell Beckham Jr. expirement is over

WHAT McDANIEL SAID ABOUT THE BECKHAM MOVE

On whether it was a mutual parting of the way, as reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: "Yeah, conversations led us to determining that it was the best for both parties. Odell and I have been very communicative since he's been here. He had a tough start in terms of having to rehab his way into the season, and then just looking at it as simple as, all right, what's the best for both him and the team moving forward and we just thought it was a good time to go that direction. That was the motivation behind it, that's all."

On whether the move was initiated by Beckham and/or his representatives: "No, it's just our professional communication. He's a professional that has diligently chopped wood and I know his expectations and so when you communicate transparently, I can kind of know where he's at and normal communication that just kind of led us that direction for the best, best for both parties, really."

On whether Beckham's absence from practice Wednesday and Thursday was excused and related to the move: "I think I don't really need to get into timelines and the nuances of it we discussed, and we're both on the same page, and we I wish him the best, and we'll be rooting for him."

What McDaniel didn't say, nor should have been expected to say, is that if the Dolphins thought Beckham could make a significant different down the stretch, they would have kept him.

The Dolphins didn't move Calais Campbell at the NFL trade deadline because they felt they needed him to turn their season around, and it's a move that's proven very wise.

Beckham didn't make an impact during his time with the Dolphins, so in this case there was no reason or need to keep him around if he wanted his release.

McDaniel wouldn't have been saying anything out of bounds had he mentioned there was no need to keep Beckham regardless of his wishes — he was under contract after all — but that's simply not his style. Besides, the facts and what we saw on the field said it all.