The Dallas Cowboys appear to be changing course on Odell Beckham Jr.
Just days after predicting that the Cowboys would end up with the three-time Pro Bowl receiver, team owner Jerry Jones is changing his tune. While speaking to local Dallas area radio station 105.3 The Fan, Jones says the chances of the Cowboys signing Beckham are “diminishing.”
“I don’t have an assessment of that, but as of this morning we don’t have anything. I don’t have an assessment,” Jones said on Tuesday, December 20. “The reality is though that time is moving down the road relative to playing in the playoffs, and so every day diminishes our chances of going forward.”
Jones Previously Predicted OBJ Signs With Cowboys
The comments come shortly after Jones boldly predicted to USA Today Sports’ Jarrett Bell that Dallas would end up with Beckham.
“Odell’s going to join us,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday, December 15. “There’s a good chance he will, with the complete goal of getting ready for a playoff game or two, and then I’ll look to the future. But most of it being about now.”
The 30-year-old receiver remains a free agent after visiting with the Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and New York Giants earlier in the month. Despite interest from all three teams, there doesn’t appear to be an imminent signing for Beckham on the horizon.
Beckham Would Be Placed on Injured Reserve After Signing
The veteran is coming off of an ACL tear suffered in last February’s Super Bowl. His projected timeline for a return is in mid-January. However, as ESPN’s Todd Archer notes, if Beckham were to sign now with the Cowboys, he’d likely be placed on injured reserve immediately. That would mean he would have to sit out a minimum of four games, meaning he’d be out for the team’s wild card playoff game in January.
“If Beckham joined the Cowboys, the plan was to place him on injured reserve after he spent a day on the active roster as he returns from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee suffered in last season’s Super Bowl,” said Archer. “He would have to miss four games on injured reserve, which if he were to sign this week, would mean he would miss at least the wild-card round of the playoffs.”
If that were to be the case, that leaves little reason for the Cowboys to sign Beckham. The whole purpose of the pursuit of the star receiver was for Beckham to aid in the team’s push entering the postseason. Not only will Beckham miss the last three games of the regular season, he would be due to miss the Cowboys’ playoff opener.
That presents a major problem for a franchise that has just three playoff wins over the past 25 years. Considering Dallas will likely enter the playoffs as a wild card, that means they’ll open the postseason on the road. The Cowboys haven’t won a road playoff game since the 1992 season.
As more and more time wears on, it looks like the Cowboys aren’t going to sign OBJ before the end of the 2022 season.
Cowboys Reverse Course on Odell Beckham Jr. Signing