Insider Calls Rams Playoff Hero a ‘Clear Choice’ for AFC Contender

Aaron Donald isn’t the only notable no-show during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) for the Los Angeles Rams.

One other playoff hero from their Super Bowl 56 run is awaiting to be resigned…and be cleared to play when the time comes: Odell Beckham Jr.

As long as OBJ remains unsigned, his name will most likely surface for teams looking to add roster talent at the last minute. And one key date to keep an eye on is Wednesday, June 1 — when NFL teams including the Rams can adjust their salary cap which does involve cutting players to clear up salary cap space.

Beckham has re-emerged as an intriguing free agent including for his last league employer, especially considering his body of work that helped spark the Rams’ Super Bowl run. One look at the plays he delivered during the NFC playoffs and before his devastating ACL tear (expected to sideline him until early November) in the big game, and it paints the picture of how valuable Beckham can be when used.

Now, one insider who covers an aspiring AFC contender that has already made some splashy transactions themselves wrote down Beckham’s name as the “clear choice” for best available player in free agency on Tuesday, May 31.

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Beckham Would Join a Room With 3 Pro Bowl Targets if Added

Written by The Athletic’s Las Vegas Raiders insider Tashan Reed, OBJ’s name tops the list of potential final additions to the Silver and Black.

Reed put Beckham’s name down for a list that includes 15 other names. Beckham is the only Rams representative from a season ago to be linked as a possibility for a team that already has Pro Bowlers Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow catching passes from Derek Carr. But now, the Raiders added arguably the league’s best receiver in Davante Adams via trade.

Here’s why Beckham to the Raiders makes sense for Reed:

“Despite suffering a torn ACL in the Super Bowl, Beckham is the clear choice for the best available player in free agency. Yes, the Raiders don’t need another receiver. They have four on the roster who have double-digit career starts after signing Keelan Cole last month. But Beckham looked like his old dynamic self last season in his stint with the Rams and would provide a speedy deep threat that the Raiders receiver room is lacking. Imagine a pass-catching corps including Adams, Renfrow, Darren Waller and Beckham. To me, that’s too good to pass on as long as Beckham can return this season.”

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Why a Move Can/Cannot Work for OBJ

Obviously for Beckham, donning the Silver and Black and playing with multiple Pro Bowlers sounds enticing across the board. Even more intriguing for OBJ, the Raiders are fresh off their own playoff appearance, which ended at the hands of the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard round.

A quartet of Adams, Renfrow, Waller and Beckham is the kind of unit that would give the punt and field goal teams less action and ignite the scoreboard at Allegiant Stadium plus other league venues.

However, considering how much the Raiders are going to pay Adams ($28 million annually via Spotrac) and are paying Waller ($7.4 million until he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024), Beckham would likely have to accept one more lesser deal that could be close to the $1.250 million he made with the Rams. There’s also this added element: Renfrow becomes a UFA in 2023 and is already the subject of his own contract extension, mentioned in this Heavy on Raiders story from May 24 by Austin Boyd.

Plus on the Raiders’ end, here’s why adding OBJ comes with a “don’t let history repeat itself” element: The Raiders signed one past Rams free agent with previous Pro Bowl accolades during 2021 in DeSean Jackson. After catching 8 passes for 221 yards and scoring just once in his seven games as a Ram, “D-Jax” didn’t fare much better statistically for the Raiders: 12 catches, 233 yards and one touchdown through nine games. Jackson is also still an unsigned free agent.

Lastly, the Raiders would have to exercise a lot of patience with OBJ if he were to come on board considering the current state of his knee. But OBJ is showing signs that he’s open to returning to the place where he won his first Super Bowl ring, firing off a “BACK TO BACKKKKKKKK” Instagram comment from this post by the Rams’ IG account:

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