Former Browns Star Odell Beckham Jr. Hints at Return to Cleveland

Getty Images Free agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

The list of current Cleveland Browns players publicly recruiting Odell Beckham Jr. back to the team continues to grow, as does the wide receiver’s apparent openness to the notion.

On the Wednesday, June 1, edition of the “Varsity House Podcast,” Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and cornerback Greg Newsome II showered Beckham with praise.

“Odell’s gotta be one of the best teammates that I’ve had,” Owusu-Koramoah said.

“[Beckham] is probably the best teammate,” Newsome echoed. “But honestly, the crazy thing is, Baker [Mayfield] is a great teammate, too. It was just so much, those relationships, the whole entire thing was just off.”

Newsome’s comments were made in reference to the rift between Beckham and Mayfield that led to the wideout forcing his way out of Cleveland during the middle of last season. Ever since it became clear that the Browns will replace Mayfield with new starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, however, Beckham has made public comments indicating he has warmed to the idea of coming back to Cleveland.

His inclination has become particularly clear through social media interactions that display how many positive relationships Beckham still maintains with players currently in the Browns locker room.

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Beckham Maintains Great Relationships With Young Browns Stars on Both Sides of Ball

Getty ImagesFormer Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. still has a lot of fans in the Browns locker room.

Just one day before the two young Cleveland defenders praised Beckham as one of the best teammates they’ve ever had, the wide receiver responded to a tweet from Owusu-Koramoah, in which the linebacker saluted Beckham after saying he “knew where Beckham’s heart was at.”

The former Browns pass catcher’s response was just the latest indication he might be open to returning to Cleveland.

“They done get understand one day!!!!” Beckham wrote in response. “Lol bruhhh my cleats was my size only, I wish I coulda go ya right brudda @j_owuu and @gnewsii. I still got plenty of orange cleats left.”

While the message Beckham sent via Twitter on May 31 can be interpreted in several ways, the tone of it is unmistakable. Friendliness, joviality, warmth, respect — all of these emotions shine through nearly every time Beckham interacts publicly with his former Browns teammates.

Some of the Browns players with whom Beckham continues to vibe are young, like Owusu-Koramoah and Newsome, while others such as edge rusher Myles Garrett are established stars. Those three play defense but Beckham’s connections span both sides of the football.

Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones also recruited Beckham back to Cleveland earlier this offseason with a public message via Instagram, in which he shared a photo of the two of them during pre-game warmups with a caption indicating that he missed Beckham.

Garrett also took to Instagram on Wednesday after the Varsity House Podcast came out where he posted a series of photos meant for Beckham, which he captioned “Come home, the fellas miss you.”

Garrett later invited Beckham to reach out to him by employing a phone emoji and the caption, “It’s time.”

Browns Can Offer Beckham Payday, Opportunity to Win Super Bowl

Getty ImagesWide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., formerly of the Cleveland Browns, and pass rusher Myles Garrett.

There is no question that money and winning tend to drive football decisions of today’s players, but relationships matter, too. And the relationships Beckham maintains in the Browns locker room make a return more feasible than the wideout landing elsewhere, particularly because the team is now much more poised for success than it was half a season ago and has the most cap room of any franchise in the NFL.

Adding Watson to the fold, trading with the Dallas Cowboys for Amari Cooper and drafting David Bell out of Purdue University has made the Browns offense capable of competing with the AFC elite. The defense is also solid stem to stern, save for a weak interior defensive line, after extending cornerback Denzel Ward and bringing back pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

However, Cleveland has nearly $41 million in cap space it can spend this offseason due to the way it structured Watson’s five-year deal and restructured the three years remaining on Cooper’s contract. Whatever the Browns don’t spend on defensive tackles, they could send Beckham’s way in free agency.

The Los Angeles Rams, with whom Beckham won a Super Bowl last season, have only $5 million in remaining cap space and just signed Allen Robinson II away from the Chicago Bears to play alongside Cooper Kupp.

The Green Bay Packers are a franchise that might make a run at Beckham eventually, but they have been dormant thus far and stand at a $23 million deficit in terms of cap room when compared to the Browns.

Cleveland can pay Beckham. The Browns can win in a real way with him, especially now with Watson under center. And the locker room wants Beckham back. The longer Beckham continues to flirt with the notion of returning to the team publicly, as he has for the last several weeks, the more likely it is he ends up back in Cleveland for the 2022 season.