Getty Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham.
Odell Beckham Jr. remains unsigned in free agency as reports of him asking for $20 million per year run rampant. The three-time Pro Bowler has expressed confusion over where that number came from in recent days. Beckham took to Twitter to say he doesn’t want $20 million, but $4 million won’t close the deal.
Whatever the case, the 30-year-old receiver will find a home. He’s finally healthy after sitting out the entire 2022 campaign to rehab from a torn ACL. The New York Jets appear to be the leading candidates to sign Beckham, although the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and Kansas City Chiefs have all been mentioned as possible landing spots. He’ll weigh his options, factoring in fit and financials, and make a decision prior to the start of training camps in July.
Another team flying under the radar to grab Beckham is the Philadelphia Eagles. The team certainly has a need for a third receiver following a disappointing 2022 season out of Quez Watkins. He was dealing with a Grade 2 left shoulder sprain for half the year, but question marks began to pop up before the injury revelation. The Eagles might want to upgrade the position, with Beckham gaining traction as a splashy move to get them over the Super Bowl hump.
.@JeffDarlington says OBJ to the Jets is STILL a possibility:
“We should very much consider Odell Beckham Jr. still on the table as an option for the New York Jets. In fact, we can go even further to say that both sides would still like to see this done.”
The 33rd Team ranked Beckham at No. 2 on their list of the “Best Remaining Free Agents.” If he’s healthy — and all indications are that he is — then he would be a “steal” for a championship contender. They wrote: “Odell Beckham Jr. held the NFL world captive when it seemed like he was going to sign during the 2022 season. However, he decided to wait until the offseason while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered during the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win. If Beckham Jr. is healthy, he could be a steal.”
Remember, this is a guy with 7,367 receiving yards and 56 touchdowns in 96 career games. He still has great hands and big-play ability, two important traits the Eagles have always put a premium on.
Nick Sirianni Commented on Adding Beckham
There have been several reports linking the Eagles to Beckham dating back to last year. Pro Football Talk started a mini maelstrom when they tweeted: “Watch the Eagles.” From there, it was off to the races as everyone seemed to have a hot take about Beckham and where he might land in free agency.
I’m just so confused where the quote is from me tht said I want 20…..😭🙄all I’m sayin is 4 AINT enough
The Eagles were squarely in the mix for months … until head coach Nick Sirianni went on record saying they weren’t interested. He hyped up his wide receivers’ room as the best one he’s ever coached.
“Really happy with the room that we have. One of the best wideout rooms, yeah, the best wideout room I’ve ever been a part of in the NFL. We’ve had some good ones. This is the best one we’ve had,” Sirianni told reporters on December 7, 2022. “I love what obviously A.J. [Brown], everybody knows what A.J. and DeVonta [Smith] are doing, right? Then you have Quez [Watkins] who is continuing to come on and continuing to make plays, continuing to be that big speed receiver that we need.
“Then you have Zach Pascal, who is very critical to a team, the type of play he brings. Your fourth has to be a special teams contributor, which Zach is. He has to be willing to do the dirty work and be able to back up every single position, which he does. And have a specialty role, which he does, too, have that.”
When asked about the Eagles being linked to Odell Beckham, Nick Sirianni said this is the best group of wide receivers he’s ever been around.
“I’m really excited about that room, I’ll leave it at that.”
But, almost four months later, the landscape has changed. Pascal signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Watkins has loosely been the subject of trade rumors. And the Eagles are hard at work scouting rookie receivers in the 2023 NFL draft. If Beckham wanted to give the Eagles a friendly discount — say a one-year deal worth $4 million, loaded with incentives — then maybe Sirianni and the Eagles would reconsider.
Eagles Not in Attendance for Public Workout
Beckham worked out in front of a bunch of teams back in March where he ran around and made one-handed catches. The former first-round pick showed no lingering effects from his year-long knee injury. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Beckham was 100% healthy and 14 teams showed up to see what he could do.
Everybody almost ran out after this one… 🤯🤯🤯 @obj
Surprisingly, the Eagles weren’t one of the teams in attendance. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Giants, Bills, Ravens, Chiefs, and Patriots showed up, while CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones added the Panthers, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Jets, Vikings, and Browns to the list. The Dallas Cowboys have continued to express interest in Beckham as well.