The biggest move the Buffalo Bills made this offseason was obtaining linebacker Von Miller, and signing the eight-time Pro Bowler to a monster six-year, $120 million deal, and now he’s pushing hard to bring another superstar to Orchard Park, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
While Miller previously admitted that he was actively working to recruit veteran cornerback Joe Haden to Buffalo, the edge rusher is now focusing his attention on his former Los Angeles Rams teammate.
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Miller took credit for recruiting Beckham to the Rams last season, and on Thursday, August 11, sent a strong message to Bills general manager Brandon Beane during an interview on The Pat McAfee Show about adding the three-time Pro Bowler.
“I have an open locker right next to me. Odell is my guy,” Miller told McAfee. “You don’t have too many friends outside of football. Of course, I have colleagues that I know, but he’s one of my good buddies. I’ve been knowing him for a long time, over six, seven years. He’s trying to work himself to get back healthy, but the door is open for him to come to the Buffalo Bills.
“I know Odell loves to win. Everybody loves to win. We’ve got a winning team. Him really being here would just put the icing on the cake and put us over the top.”
While Miller is looking to win a third Super Bowl with a third team, a feat that’s never been done before in the NFL, he told McAfee that Beckham is also gunning to snag another championship.
“Playing in the league six, seven, eight, nine years, you win a Super Bowl, it creates this addiction,” Miller said. “I know he felt it, and he wants to get back there. I felt it twice, and I want to get back there. This is the path to go. The Buffalo Bills have been on the brink for very long time. He could be that last little drop, just like myself, to get us over the top and go back to football heaven.”
As it stands, the Bills have approximately just over $4.5 million in cap space, per Spotrac.com, which makes adding Beckham a complicated feat. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
The Buffalo News reporter Jay Skurski wrote on Friday, August 12 “Acquiring Beckham will require Beane to get even more creative with the cap than he already has. Beane has tried to limit just how far he kicks the can down the road in regards to the salary cap, but this is a special circumstance in which he would be justified in doing it again. Beckham’s that good.”
Miller Insists Beckham Won’t Bring the Drama
While Beckham has developed a reputation as being difficult or high maintenance, Miller insists he wouldn’t be a problem in Buffalo.
“I think he cares about winning at this point in his career,” Miller told McAfee. “He wants to be loved, just like any pro athlete wants to be loved wherever you go. Bills Mafia will embrace him with open arms. We’re going to feed him the ball. Josh Allen, it’s just going to add to his weapons. You’ve got [Stefon] Diggs, you’ve Isaiah [McKenzie]. You’ve got Gabe Davis and Odell Beckham, plus all the guys who are helping out, as well. That would really put us over the top.”
Miller isn’t the only person who feels that way. Back in May, Fox Sports NFL analyst Eric D. Williams named the Bills as a possible landing spot for the 29-year-old receiver, who isn’t expected to return to action until December after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee during Super Bowl LVI.
Williams wrote, “Other teams with Super Bowl aspirations such as the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the New England Patriots witnessed the impact Beckham had for the Rams down the backstretch of last season and in the playoffs. Why not take a chance on a veteran receiver who can make impact plays and push your team over the top?”
After leaving the Cleveland Browns to join the Rams mid-season, Beckham racked up 27 receptions for 305 receiving yards and five touchdowns in eight games. During the postseason, the LSU alum continued to shine, finishing with 21 receptions for 288 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Beckham Made it Clear That He’s Interested in Joining the Bills
Before appearing on The Pat McCafee Show, Miller appeared to be working to lure Beckham to Buffalo by showing off hyped training camp content on Instagram.
Miller shared a video of himself running out to practice at St. John Fisher University on Sunday, August 7, and captioned the post, “U KNO IM LIT 😵💫😤😎🌪,” and the unbridled excitement expressed in the pass rusher’s post caught Beckham’s attention.
“U beeeen litttt!!!! @vonmiller what’s the locker next to u loook like 👀!!!??” Beckham wrote in the comments section, a bold message that turned heads on both Instagram and Twitter.
Miller then responded to Beckham’s comment with a separate post on his Instagram Stories on Monday, August 8. Miller posted a photo of Beckham in a Bills uniform wrote, “@ojb Let’s chase this ring… AGAIN.”
Following the back and forth between Miller and OBJ on Monday, Cover 1 host Greg Thompsett tweeted, “For the #BillsMafia OBJ debates – the team is inarguably better with him – no they don’t NEED him – he won’t be ready until roughly December for 6-ish games + playoffs- he won’t sign with any team for a while to see his rehab timeline AND what team poised to win needs him.”
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Star Linebacker Sends Bills GM Strong Message About Odell Beckham Jr.