Tag: Odell Beckham

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Odell Beckham Jr. wasn’t very involved in the Rams’ game plan against the 49ers in Week 10, which was to be expected. He was only in Los Angeles for a couple of days before the Rams took on the 49ers, giving him very little time to learn the playbook and the offense as a whole.

But with the Rams being on their bye last week, he was given some additional time to get acclimated. The result? Likely a bigger role than the 15 snaps and two catches he had in his Rams debut.

Sean McVay sounds pleased with how Beckham is doing and expects him to be ready to go against the Packers on Sunday afternoon.

“He’s doing really well. The one thing is he’s very smart. Game comes naturally to him,” McVay said. “I think we’re just working through – like you said, it’s the early parts of the week. We’ll be able to get some good, full speed reps today and this afternoon, and figure out exactly how we kind of tighten up the plan, and what it looks like to maximize his skill sets. But he’s going to be ready to go and we expect to see a lot of him.”

Beckham should be a starter with Robert Woods out for the year, lining up with Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson. Ben Skowronek is likely to be the fourth receiver and although he played more than Beckham two weeks ago, that should change on Sunday.

Beckham caught two passes for 18 yards on only three targets in his debut. He’s a talented playmaker deserving of more opportunities than that, and he should get them against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t arrive in Los Angeles until two days before the Rams took on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10. It was unfair to think he would have much of an impact in that game, given his lack of time to prepare and learn the Rams’ playbook.

But with the Rams being on their bye in Week 11, Beckham was able to dive into the playbook and get acclimated to his new team without feeling pressed to play in a game again so quickly. That should have a positive effect ahead of this weekend’s matchup with the Packers, certainly giving Beckham a larger opportunity on offense after playing only 15 snaps against the 49ers.

Sean McVay provided an update on Beckham’s progress Monday and while he complimented the wide receiver’s intelligence, he did admit it’s still a process that he and the team are working through.

“I think that’s a work in progress. I think it was important for everybody to be able to get away. Odell was doing a great job of kind of working on his own, getting himself physically ready to go because there was still some stuff that he was working through just physically to get his body feeling overall the way that he wants to play at the level that we all know he’s capable of,” McVay said. “And so, there’s some moving parts to that. What I didn’t want to do is immerse him in some information and then you end up adjusting and changing. So, I think you want to be able to foundationally build it the right way, formations, all those kinds of things, and then you do need to be specific with the way that we implement the game plan. What does that look like? What positions will he play in? Who does that also effect as a result of just some of the moving pieces, different personnel groupings? And things of that nature. So, that’s something that we started to really dive into today. I know he was doing some stuff behind the scenes. But he’s a smart, conscientious guy. I think the goal for us is making sure that we get a plan in alignment that provides clarity for all of our players, in particular Odell, just because he is new to the system. But, there’s a lot of similarities in terms of the verbiage and the vernacular that they were utilizing in Cleveland. And so that will help and it’ll force us to be even that much more air tight with our game plan, which I think is a good, positive thing for us as coaches as well.”

When Beckham was originally brought in, he was expected to be the No. 3 receiver in a rotation with Van Jefferson. But with Robert Woods suffering a torn ACL shortly after Beckham arrived, his role grew significantly.

Even after the bye, Beckham will still need time to get up to speed in Los Angeles. A receiver joining a new team isn’t as easy as a pass rusher like Von Miller because there’s a chemistry that must develop between the receiver and his quarterback. For Miller, he can just go rush the quarterback without needing to worry much about what his teammates are doing on a given play.

Beckham is a talented and explosive player, but expecting him to play every snap and rack up big numbers each week is unfair.

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It’s not often a three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver becomes available in Week 10 so it should come as no surprise that Odell Beckham Jr. had his share of suitors. The Rams wound up winning those sweepstakes by signing him to a one-year deal worth up to $4.25 million, with most of that money being tied to team-based incentives.

A couple of other NFC West foes were also in pursuit of Beckham, however. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Seahawks made the strongest offer initially and the Cardinals also inquired about the receiver. But the Rams loaded their deal with incentives, trying to ensure he didn’t land with a division rival.

Some background on Odell Beckham free agency last week: Seattle actually made the strongest offer over the first few days. Rams stepped in w/ heavy incentives because they wanted the player, but they also had to ensure no other NFC West team got him. Arizona also inquired.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 20, 2021

Sean Payton said this week that the Saints were “close” to signing Beckham and bringing him back to Louisiana where he was born and raised. However, Payton got the sense that Beckham wanted to go to L.A. from the start – which matches up with Jay Glazer saying Beckham has been trying to go to the Rams for a while.

Beckham didn’t have much of an impact in his Rams debut against the 49ers, but with the team on a bye now, he should have time to get up to speed and integrated into the game plan.

The Rams need him to be a key player with Robert Woods out for the season after he suffered a torn ACL in practice.

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Odell Beckham Jr.’s tenure with the Browns wasn’t very productive for either side. He struggled on the field and the Browns didn’t get much in return for the trade they made with the Giants back in 2019.

Beckham helped facilitate his release from Cleveland last week and after clearing waivers, he became a free agent. After weighing his options, Beckham chose to sign with the Rams, his third NFL team.

Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller and Sean McVay helped recruit him to L.A., and though the Rams didn’t show much interest initially, Beckham wanted to go to Los Angeles the whole time after being released by Cleveland.

That’s according to Jay Glazer, who shared details of Beckham’s decision to join the Rams.

“Odell wanted to go to L.A. the whole time and it was Jalen Ramsey – Jalen’s got a lot of juice in this league,” Glazer said on the Pat McAfee Show Wednesday. “Jalen is the one who brought it to McVay on like Wednesday. And Odell looked at it like, he didn’t care if he was going to make the league minimum because he was going to make more money off the field in L.A. than he would on the field somewhere else.”

"Odell wanted to go to LA the whole time.. even after he got traded to the Browns he told me wanted to get to the Rams" ~@JayGlazer#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/Scg9Y7ED6D

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 17, 2021

Glazer added that this has long been a desire of Beckham’s. The star receiver has wanted to play for the Rams for a long time, even telling Glazer in 2019 after the Giants traded him to the Browns that he wanted to then get dealt to the Rams.

“Odell’s been trying to go to the Rams for a long time,” he said. “Even after he got traded to the Browns, I remember talking to him, he’s like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to help me get traded now to the Rams.’”

Beckham is under contract for the rest of the season but the Rams are likely to explore the possibility of extending him in the offseason before he hits free agency. There isn’t a ton of room in L.A.’s wide receiver room, but the front office and coaching staff would find a way to make it work.

And given Beckham’s desire to play for the Rams over the years, he would presumably be happy to stay in Los Angeles if the two sides can work out a deal.

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