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There were a handful of teams that were frequently linked to Odell Beckham Jr. in the last week since the Browns made it known that they would be releasing him. The Packers, Saints, Patriots and Packers were all reportedly interested in signing him, but the Rams came out of nowhere at the last moment and landed the former Pro Bowl receiver.
They agreed to a one-year deal with Beckham on Thursday, in large part because of the recruiting pitch from several key members of the Rams. Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller and the Rams’ receivers were a big part of luring Beckham to L.A., but Sean McVay was, too.
Peter Schrager of NFL Network detailed McVay’s pitch to Beckham, sharing that the coach told Odell the Rams will use four-receiver sets and 10 personnel (1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR) to integrate him in the offense.
“I knew McVay has always lusted after Odell Beckham. This goes back to when Odell was on the Giants and he was rumored of possibly being traded from the Giants and the Browns offered too much,” Schrager began. “The Giants weren’t going to turn that down but Sean has always had his eye on Odell. And it was actually several other players who called him but McVay got on the phone with Odell Beckham two days ago and basically laid out the plans. ‘We’re gonna go four-wide, we’re gonna be in 10 personnel, we’re gonna get looks, we’re gonna bring you in here, we’re gonna go win a Super Bowl. Like, let’s go do this. What are we doing? Do you want to go anywhere else and maybe get more touches?’”
"At one point while recruiting him over FaceTime, Ramsey took his phone into the @RamsNFL WRs room & asked all the guys, with Odell looking on from the phone, 'Boys, do we want this guy?' & the response in the room was awesome." – @Pschrags w/ details on the Beckham signing pic.twitter.com/edHRV8Taw3
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) November 12, 2021
On Thursday, just before the Rams and Beckham agreed to terms on a contract, other stars in L.A. got involved. Ramsey had Beckham on FaceTime just before practice, allowing his teammates to make their final pitch to the wideout.
Schrager also shared that Ramsey helped get Beckham on board by showing how excited the Rams’ receivers would be to have him in Los Angeles.
“It’s a rental for now and if they can go in there for eight weeks and Odell can feel comfortable, the other wide receivers were a concern,” Schrager continued. “How do you tell Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods? At one point, Jalen Ramsey was on FaceTime recruiting Odell Beckham, and I can tell you this knowing it’s a fact, and Odell said, ‘What do you think about the wide receivers?’ And Jalen Ramsey at the facility took the FaceTime into the receivers room where they’re all sitting there and he puts it into the room and says, ‘Guys, Odell’s here, do we want Odell?’ And they’re all like, ‘Yeah, come on, let’s go!’ It was that clear.”
The Rams are all about team comradery and chemistry. McVay has instilled the “we not me” mantra in his players’ minds, getting them to completely buy into what he’s trying to build in Los Angeles.
Beckham seems to be fully on board and having the blessing of his new teammates in the receiver room helped seal the deal. It doesn’t hurt that McVay seems committed to getting him involved by using four-receiver sets and 10 personnel, a stark contrast to what he’s called this season; the Rams have only had four or five receivers on the field together five times this year.
The Rams are confident this relationship will work and right now, there’s no reason to believe there will be any locker room issues caused by bringing in a star like Beckham.
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