Getty Ex-Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Any hope of Odell Beckham Jr. returning to his old stomping grounds in East Rutherford appears all but gone. According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, “Beckham’s camp is reportedly warning non-contenders not to claim him or there’ll be ‘issues.'”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter further elaborated on these reports, noting that “If a team that does not fit this criteria [a playoff contender] claims Beckham and the $7.25 million remaining on his contract, there could be potential issues for that team, according to a source, although it is unclear exactly what those issues would be.”
Per Schefter, Beckham will officially be released by the Browns on Monday, November 8th after a rather tumultuous two-and-a-half years in Cleveland. The move came after the league and NFL Players Association approved Beckham’s new restructured deal that should further strengthen the likelihood that the three-time Pro Bowler is claimed off of waivers. This means the earliest Beckham could be claimed by a new team would be 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Giants ‘Not Eager’ to Relive the OBJ Experience
While New York might currently own the seventh-highest waiver priority and seemingly do have a need for playmaking on the outside — two wideouts are currently on injured reserve while Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay continue to be hobbled by injuries — the 3-6 Giants clearly don’t fit Beckham’s wishes to join a winning culture. Despite their victory in Week 9, the team is still likely en route to their ninth season over the past decade without a playoff appearance. Having said that, Beckham’s “criteria” likely won’t keep those within the Giants building from losing any sleep.
“While he does still have supports and friends in the Giants organization, there are a lot of people that remember the Beckham experience from a few years ago and are just not eager to relive it,” Vacchiano said. “It was a very, very bumpy ride and in the end not worth it at all to them and not worth it at all for them to bring him back even though they need receiving help right now.”
ESPN Insider Jeremy Fowler did recently name the Giants as a “sleeper” team to make a run at Beckham. However, that designation appeared to be based mainly on nostalgia rather than plausibility. Even Fowler himself admitted that a reunion is “doubtful” to happen.
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Beckham’s Declining Production
The Giants’ No. 12 overall selection in the 2014 draft, Beckham spent five seasons in New York creating what looked to be the early makings of a Hall of Fame resume. While his 2017 campaign was limited to just four games due to an ankle injury, Beckham averaged 1,294 yards receiving and totaled 41 touchdowns over his other four seasons.
Since being dealt in 2018, Beckham has eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark just once and tallied just seven receiving touchdowns. The former LSU star turned 29 years old on November 5th.
In Beckham’s defense, if you pop in the game tape, you realize his fall off in production isn’t completely contingent on a fall off in play — to a degree. While maybe not the player he was earlier in his career, Beckham still gets separation on defenders with relative ease — as his father will attest to.