Teammate: Odell Beckham Jr. was threatened Sunday by unidentified bat-wielding man

New York Giants punter Brad Wing said that teammate Odell Beckham Jr. was threatened by an unidentified baseball bat-wielding man dressed in Carolina Panthers sweats during pregame warmups Sunday.

Wing said the man refused to shake Beckham’s hand after it was offered near midfield and later crossed onto the Giants’ side of the field with the bat in hand.

“I’ll be the reason this will be your last game,” Wing recalled the man saying. Wing talked to reporters about the incident for the first time Wednesday.

Wing’s account came only hours before appeals officer James Thrash upheld Beckham’s one-game NFL suspension for multiple violations of player safety rules in Sunday’s game.

Beckham was flagged for three personal fouls in the Panthers’ 38-35 victory, one for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, with whom he tangled repeatedly in the game.

Panthers Coach Ron Rivera said the team has used the baseball bat as a prop all season. He insisted reports that some players taunted Beckham with physical threats and homophobic slurs were not true.

Rivera spoke to practice squad player Marcus Ball, who was seen carrying the bat before the game, but the defensive back denied any of the accusations.

Osweiler digs in

For the first time since taking over the Denver Broncos’ offense from injured starter Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler made it clear he has no intention of giving up the gig easily.

“I think that’s any athlete’s mindset,” said Osweiler, who will make his sixth consecutive start Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. “You know, once you get your feet on the field, you don’t want to go back to the bench, if you will.

“So, you’re always out there trying to prove something. You’re always trying to prove to your teammates that you’re capable of getting the job done. You’re trying to prove things to your coaching staff and you’re trying to prove things to the fan base.

“You always want to put forward your best foot.”

Etc.

Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer said that he has turned to acupuncture after suffering two concussions in a month. Hoyer returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday but remains in the league’s protocol after suffering a concussion Dec. 13 and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans. ... Minnesota Vikings running back and NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson said he was confident he’ll play Sunday against the Giants despite a sprained left ankle that forced him out of last Sunday’s game. ... Kansas Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali suffered a broken right thumb Sunday in a game at Baltimore and had surgery this week but has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. ...The Oakland Raiders placed rookie defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. on season-ending injured reserve because of a neck injury.