The Dallas Cowboys rumors linking the team to Odell Beckham Jr. are heating up once again as the playmaker never signed with a team last season. Despite sitting out all of 2022, Beckham will be one of the top available wide receivers when free agency discussions begin on March 13, 2023.
Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger believes the Cowboys will finally land Beckham after months of deliberation between the two parties. The PFF analyst offered his major predictions for the NFL offseason and has Beckham moving to Big D after a long courting process.
“The Dallas Cowboys make a lot of sense as a landing spot — just ask Micah Parsons — with CeeDee Lamb likely not signing his extension until the 2024 offseason,” Spielberger wrote on February 17. “In the meantime, Dallas can have two mid-tier wide receiver contracts with Michael Gallup and Beckham. The Cowboys have to regret recouping just a fifth-round pick for Amari Cooper — and every other team that didn’t beat that price should, as well — but with Beckham they don’t have to break the bank on a game-changing wide receiver when healthy.”
The Cowboys initially declined to sign Beckham after possessing serious doubts that the wideout could contribute at all last season. Beckham has since posted workout videos showing his progress and is expected to be ready to play again in 2023.
Jerry Jones on Odell Beckham Jr.’s Free Agency: ‘We’ll Be Talking’
Despite owner Jerry Jones’ incessant public praise of Beckham, the devil is always in the details and the chances the playmaker wears a star on his helmet next season depends on what Dallas is willing to spend. Beckham is unlikely to find anything close to the five-year, $90 million contract the former Pro Bowler played on with the Browns.
Following his release by Cleveland, Beckham signed a $1.2 million deal with Los Angeles at the mid-season mark in 2021 to become a key part of the eventual Super Bowl champions. Spotrac projects Beckham’s market value to be an estimated two-year, $26.3 million contract. Time will tell if the Cowboys will be willing to pay up to sign Beckham, but Jones confirmed that the team will continue talking with the star in free agency.
“I’ve gotten to know him well, and we’ll be talking,” Jones told reporters on February 1 at the Senior Bowl.
CeeDee Lamb to Cowboys: ‘Add More Weapons’
Whether it is Beckham or another receiver, the pressure is on the Cowboys front office to make significant upgrades at receiver. Dallas failed to find an adequate replacement for Amari Cooper after trading the star to the Browns last offseason. After battling injuries throughout the year, James Washington failed to catch a pass before being released by Dallas prior to the postseason.
The Cowboys were also counting on Jalen Tolbert to potentially secure the WR3 job, but the rookie failed to make an impact in 2022. Dak Prescott threw a career-high 17 interceptions, but it is unlikely just a coincidence that this occurred when Dallas significantly downgraded their offensive weapons. Even Cowboys players are pushing the front office to add additional playmakers in the coming months.
“Always just gotta, of course, add more weapons,” Lamb told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe during a February 5 interview. “I feel like in that situation you can always be better. There’s never enough, you can never run out of ammo. We just gotta finish.”
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Cowboys Predicted to Land Former $90 Million Star