Odell Beckham Prioritizes Signing With NFC Powerhouse: Report

Getty Images Former Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is hoping to land with the Green Bay Packers if he clears waivers on Tuesday.

The report comes from ESPN’s Jordan Schultz, who tweeted: “Odell Beckham, Jr. has prioritized the Packers as his No. 1 destination should he clear waivers, per sources.”

The move would pair Beckham with reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who would welcome another veteran target in Green Bay. Davante Adams is the unquestioned No. 1 pass-catcher for the Packers, but there’s a chance Beckham could push for snaps ahead of Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling once getting integrated into the system.

An interesting wrinkle if Beckham signs with the Packers is that they face the Browns on Christmas Day in Green Bay. Seeing as how things ended between the Browns and Beckham, he’d likely relish the opportunity to stick it to his former team.


Browns Wish Odell Beckham Well on Next Journey

The final week of Beckham’s stay with the Browns was uncomfortable, to say the least. He went radio silent on his team while his dad and others — like LeBron James — petitioned for his release prior to the trade deadline.

Without Beckham, the Browns reeled off a convincing 41-16 win against the Bengals and Baker Mayfield had his best game of the season. While Mayfield was the target of Odell Beckham Sr.’s criticism, he had nothing but good things to say about his former No. 1 wide receiver.

“I wish him well, I really do. My feelings haven’t changed,” Mayfield said after beating the Bengals. “From a personal standpoint, he’s a good friend of mine. … But I’m worried about the guys in our locker room. I’m proud of these guys, how they were able to focus up despite all the bulls— that was going on this week and how they were able to do their job. We’re going to see if we can build on it and continue to get better.”


Baker Mayfield, Browns Better Without Odell Beckham

The Browns never found a way to harness Beckham’s skills and the offense functioned better without his presence — Sunday’s walloping of the Bengals more evidence of that. Former quarterback and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky has been a staunch supporter of Mayfield and defended him again after the big win.

“The ‘Baker Mayfield Sucks’ crowd had a tough weekend, because the kid played fantastic football,” Orlovsky said. “He only had one missed throw, that was to [Jarvis] Landry late in the game. Outside of that, he was phenomenal with his ball location. He was phenomenal with his decision-making.”

Orlovsky took that one step further, saying the Browns can win a Super Bowl with Mayfield.

“It’s about building a scheme and the quarterback then figuring out, given what the defense is, who I should throw the football to?” Orlovsky said. “That’s the Baker Mayfield that I saw yesterday. That’s the Baker Mayfield that can be the reason why the Browns win a Super Bowl.”

Right now, the Browns are just focused on surviving a COVID-19 outbreak in the running back room and stringing wins together. Cleveland faces New England this weekend with a chance to move to 6-4.

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