The Cleveland Browns are to release wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr days after a viral post by his father appeared to criticise team-mate Baker Mayfield.

Beckham, 29, was excused from training on Wednesday and Thursday.

He leaves the Browns halfway through his third season with the franchise.

Beckham has failed to score a touchdown in six games this season, and the team’s executive vice-president and general manager Andrew Barry said the decision was “in the best interest of all parties involved”.

“We appreciate all of his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we’ve just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell,” he continued.

“We are finalising the process of granting Odell his release and we wish him well as he continues his career.”

According to the NFL Network, a reworked contract has been agreed and he will now head to waivers where another team can claim him.

Beckham was chosen by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played five seasons for the Giants, the first of which saw him pull off the famous one-handed catch that made him famous against the Dallas Cowboys in November 2014.

He joined the Browns in 2019, playing 29 times and scoring seven touchdowns

The Cleveland Browns are 4-4 this season and play the New England Patriots next Sunday.