Getty Images General manager Andrew Berry of the Cleveland Browns.
If the price is right, the Cleveland Browns won’t hesitate to sign Odell Beckham Jr. as they look to beef up their wide receiver corps.
Potential wide receiver targets for the Browns continue to come off the board, with Brandin Cooks getting traded to the Dallas Cowboys and veteran Adam Thielen signing with the Carolina Panthers.
However, Beckham remains available, with the two-time All-Pro weighing his options carefully. His asking price in free agency has been disputed but Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com believes the Browns will make the move if the price is right.
“The Browns attended Beckham’s private workout in Arizona, where he showed he can run. If the price is right, they won’t hesitate to sign him,” Cabot wrote in her latest Q&A column.
Browns on Good Terms with Odell Beckham
As Cabot noted, the Browns were one of 12 teams who attended Beckham’s workout in Arizona earlier this month. He spent all of last season on the sideline as he recovered from a torn ACL he suffered while winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. If he’s back to his former self, Beckham would be a great pickup for the Browns and he’d have the ability to erase what was a forgettable first stint in Cleveland.
Beckham managed just 114 catches for 1,586 yards in 29 games with the Browns. After an ugly ending in Cleveland that included a very public beef with then-quarterback Baker Mayfield, Beckham signed with the Rams and became a significant contributor during their Super Bowl run.
Beckham caught 21 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns during the Rams’ four postseason games.
Despite how things ended with the Browns, Cabot said the sides have a good relationship and working out a deal isn’t out of the question.
“It began with the fact that the Browns did right by Beckham after things became untenable between him and Baker Mayfield, and after Beckham’s father shared the ‘Odell Beckham Jr. is Always Open’ video on his social media,” Cabot said. “Browns GM Andrew Berry negotiated a settlement with Beckham’s agent that ensured he’d go unclaimed on waivers and become free to sign with any team.
“While some in the organization were initially furious that Beckham gave up on the team, most recognized that his beef was only with Mayfield, and that much of it wasn’t his fault. As time went on, time healed most of those wounds.”
Hardman, Chark Other Free Agent Option for Browns
The Browns have some other options on the table in the second wave of free agency. That includes former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman and Lions free agent DJ Chark. Neither has the resume of Beckham but do come with tremendous top end speed, something the Browns would welcome as a complement to Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Hardman was recently recruited by Browns’ new safety Juan Thornhill, sending back an eyeball emoji as a potential sign of interest.
Chark played in 11 games last season with the Lions, notching 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns. His best season came in 2019, when he caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns with Jacksonville.